Phrenitic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Wildly agitated or frenzied in mood or behavior ; affected with delirium, especially as a symptom of inflammation of the brain
2. Showing frantic, uncontrolled excitement or fury ; raving or wandering in mind because of a diseased or inflamed brain
3. Moved by violent, frenzied passion or energy ; describing a state of delirium arising from inflammation of the brain

Etymology: Phrenitic is a doublet of frantic and frenetic, meaning the three words share a single ancestor that reached English by different routes. That ancestor is the Greek "phrenitis," a disease of the mind or diaphragm, from "phren," the Greek word for mind or diaphragm. Ancient physicians believed the mind resided in the diaphragm, so inflammation there was thought to derail thought itself, and the word came to describe wild, delirious madness. The Latin form "phrenīticus" carried that medical sense into Roman writing, and English took it up in its own way. Frenetic and frantic both descend from the same Latin root but arrived through French, which softened the sense toward uncontrolled agitation and eventually to ordinary excitement. Phrenitic is the variant that stayed closer to the Latin medical meaning, and it was then reshaped under the influence of frenetic, which is why its spelling looks like a blend of the two.

Synonyms: frenetic, frantic, frenzied, delirious

Antonyms: calm, serene, tranquil