Where does “maniac” come from?
Maniac comes from French maniaque, derived from Late Latin maniacus, from Ancient Greek μανιακός, an adjective formed from μανία (madness) and ultimately from the root μαίνομαι (to rage or be mad).
maniac (English): An insane person, especially one who suffers from...
Definitions
- An insane person, especially one who suffers from...
Ancestry of “maniac”, step by step
maniac traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French maniaque
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | maniaque | maniacal; maniac |
| 2 | Latin | maniacus | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | μανιακός | causing insanity |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μανίᾱ | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | νόσος | sickness, disease, illness; plague; misery,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -λογία | Base for nouns denoting the study of something,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | λόγος | That which is said: word, sentence, speech,... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | λέγω | I put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |
via Greek μανιακός
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greek | μανιακός | maniac |