Today's Word "Paroxysm"
Published in Vocabulary
paroxysm \PAIR-uk-sih-zum\ (noun) - 1 : A fit, attack, or sudden increase or recurrence of symptoms (as of a disease) : convulsion; 2 : a sudden violent emotion or action : outburst
"In a violent paroxysm the whole top of the mountain is believed to have been swept away."
From the Greek "paroxynein," which means "to stimulate." "Oxynein," a parent of "paroxynein," means "to provoke" or "to sharpen" and comes from "oxys," a Greek word for "sharp." (That root also underlies the word "oxygen.") In its earliest known English uses in the 15th century, "paroxysm" denoted agitation or intensification of a disease or its symptoms. (A still-used example of that sense is "a paroxysm of coughing.") Additionally, "paroxysm" soon took on a broader sense referring to an outbreak, especially a dramatic physical or emotional one.
Comments