Where does “lunatic” come from?

Lunatic comes from Middle English lunatik, from Old French lunatique, from Late Latin lunaticus, meaning moon-struck, derived from Latin luna meaning moon, plus the adjectival suffix -icus.

lunatic (English): An insane person; Crazed, mad, insane, demented

Definitions

  1. An insane person; Crazed, mad, insane, demented

Ancestry of “lunatic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlunatiklunatic
2Old Frenchlunatique—
3LatinlūnāticusOf, or living on, the moon
4Latinlūna—
5Old Latinlosna—
6Proto-Italiclouksnāmoon
7Proto-Indo-Europeanlówksneh₂moon
8Proto-Indo-Europeanlewḱ-lynx
9Proto-Indo-Europeanlewk-bright; to shine; to see

Words derived from “lunatic”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewk- →