Arithmomania

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An irresistible psychological compulsion to count objects, perform mathematical calculations, or engage in arithmetic operations repeatedly
2. A mental condition characterized by an obsessive urge to count things, do mental math, or work through numerical sequences constantly
3. An intrusive behavioral impulse to count, enumerate, or carry out arithmetic tasks persistently and without voluntary control

Etymology: Arithmomania is a compound of "arithmo-", a combining form from the Greek "arithmos" meaning "number", and "-mania", from the Greek "mania", meaning madness or an intense, obsessive craving. Put together, the pieces describe an obsession with numbers, and the word is built the same way as older coinages such as "kleptomania" and "pyromania", where "-mania" attaches to a root naming the object of the compulsion. The parts themselves are old. "Mania" was used in ancient Greek for frenzy and was later borrowed into English, where it came to describe any excessive enthusiasm. The first element, "arithmos", gave English words like "arithmetic" and "arithmetical", so the same Greek root sits behind both the everyday practice of counting and the compulsive fixation this word names.