insanity

/ˌɪnˈsænəti/in-SA-nuh-tee

/ˌɪnˈsænəti/in-SA-nuh-tee

Meaningthe state of being unsound

Common meaning: serious mental illness

Other meanings: great foolishness

inin, into; (before adjectives) not
sansound, healthyLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1628 · scan
itynoun ending: being so, the quality of

‘in, into’ + ‘sound, healthy’ → insanity

Journey through time

Latininsanus‘not sound’source
Englishinsane‘seriously mentally ill’
Englishformed in English from insaneinsanity‘serious mental illness’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from insane + -ity.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), INSANE, p.295 · scan

Roots

sānus Latin “sound, healthy”

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