Paroxysms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sudden and intense outburst of emotion or activity that often occurs in a series of episodes
2. An abrupt and uncontrolled surge of feelings or behaviors that can be overwhelming and short-lived
3. A fit of severe emotional disturbance or physical symptoms that manifests suddenly, often recurring unpredictably

Etymology: The Greek word "paroxysmos" meant "exasperation" or "irritation," and it was also used for a severe fit of a disease. It came from "paroxynein," "to irritate or provoke," built from "para-," meaning "beside" or "beyond," and "oxynein," "to sharpen," from "oxys," "sharp." So the image behind the term is of something whetted past its edge, an irritation pushed to a point. The Greeks applied the word to the medical sense first, and that sense carried into Latin as "paroxysmus," which covered the onset of a disease and a violent impulse of feeling. Through Old French and Middle French it reached English in the late Middle Ages, where it still meant the recurring attack of a fever or illness, the flare-up that comes and goes in waves. That episodic quality is the key to the modern sense. A paroxysm was never a single emotion but a fit that arrived in bursts, which is why the plural suits the current meaning of intense outbursts coming in series.

Synonyms: outbursts, fits, seizures