paroxysm
Meaninga sharpening
Common meaning: a sudden violent fit
- parform of Greek para- before a vowel: beside
- oxsharp, keen; sourLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1058 (approximate) · scan
- ysmGreek noun ending (-usmos)
‘beside’ + ‘sharp, keen’ → paroxysm
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: not available. Respelling: generated.
- US IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
Origin: Built on Greek ὀξύς ‘sharp, keen; sour’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry ὀξύς, p. 1058 · dictionary scan
Roots
- ὀξύς Greek “sharp, keen; sour”
Related words
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