Where does “female hysteria” come from?
female hysteria (English) comes from English female, from Middle English female, from Middle English femelle, from Old French femelle, from Medieval Latin femella, from Latin femella, from Latin -lus, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
female hysteria (English): A now unrecognized medical diagnosis made exclusively in women with symptoms including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention and heaviness in the abdomen
Definitions
- A now unrecognized medical diagnosis made exclusively in women with symptoms including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention and heaviness in the abdomen
Ancestry of “female hysteria”, step by step
female hysteria traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English female
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | female | Belonging to the sex which typically produces... |
| 2 | Middle English | female | — |
| 3 | Middle English | femelle | — |
| 4 | Old French | femelle | female |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | femella | a female; girl, young woman; vocative singular of... |
| 6 | Latin | femella | girl, young woman; vocative singular of femella;... |
| 7 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via English hysteria
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hysteria | Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable... |
| 2 | New Latin | hysteria | — |
| 3 | Latin | hystericus | hysterical |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ὑστερικός | suffering in the uterus, hysterical; relating to... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ικός | of or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -κός | forms adjectives with the sense of 'of or... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |