paroxysm
English
Etymology
From French paroxysme, from Medieval Latin paroxysmus (“severe illness, fit of agony, paroxysm”), from Ancient Greek παροξυσμός (paroxusmós, “irritation, the severe fit of a disease”), from παροξύνειν (paroxúnein, “to sharpen, irritate”), from παρά (pará, “beside”) + ὀξύνειν (oxúnein, “sharpen”), from ὀξύς (oxús, “sharp”).
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Pronunciation
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Noun
paroxysm (plural paroxysms)
- A random or sudden outburst (of activity).
- 1903, Jack London, The Call of the Wild
- Unable to turn his back on the fanged danger and go on, the bull would be driven into paroxysms of rage.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 23, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.
- 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
- «There, on the soft sand, a few feet away from our elders, we would sprawl all morning, in a petrified paroxysm of desire, and take advantage of every blessed quirk in space and time to touch each other […] »
- 1983, John Fowles, Mantissa
- Indeed in his excitement at this breakthrough he inadvertently dug his nails into the nurse's bottom, a gesture she misinterpreted, so that he had to suffer a paroxysm of breasts and loins in response.
- 1903, Jack London, The Call of the Wild
- An explosive event during a volcanic eruption.
- A sudden recurrence of a disease, such as a seizure or a coughing fit.
Derived terms
Translations
random or sudden outburst
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sudden recurrence of a disease
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Further reading
- “paroxysm”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “paroxysm”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “paroxysm”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.