Phrensy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A state of wild excitement or uncontrollable frenzy
2. An intense and chaotic emotion characterized by frenzy and agitation
3. A condition marked by extreme excitement or delirious activity

Etymology: The spelling "phrensy" is simply an older form of "frenzy," and it carries a clue to the word's medical past. Its ancestor is the Ancient Greek "phrenitis," meaning inflammation of the brain. The Greeks pictured the "phren," the diaphragm or the mind, as the seat of thought and feeling, so a disease of the phren was a disease of the mind as well as the body. The word passed into Latin as "phrenesis," then into Old French as "frenesie," and reached Middle English as "frensy" or "frenesie." Across those centuries the sense moved from a physical illness of the brain toward a state of wild, uncontrolled agitation, which is the meaning the word keeps today. The "phrensy" spelling was simply one of several forms English used before spelling settled on "frenzy."