maniac
/ˈmeɪ.niˌæk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.22 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An insane person, especially one who suffers from a mania.
Example Sentences
- "She was driving like a maniac."
- "In these early days of silent pictures, the accent was chiefly on thrills and danger as provided by supposedly unstoppable locomotives with crooks or maniacs on the footplate."
- "Hey kids, the word of the week is "pupaphobia"! Others may enjoy being frightened by chainsaw-wielding maniacs and cannibal clowns, but my Halloween is never complete without a murderous Muppet or two. Thankfully, a pair of events last Friday the 13th provided a perfect double feature of puppet perversity."
- "“It gives me the dithers, thinking of the damage that maniac could do if he ever took the headship. He could reinstate the cycle of chosen births, or enact any of a hundred other terrible laws.”"
- "He's a manga maniac."
- "She's a maniac, maniac on the floor / And she's dancing like she's never danced before"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *mn̥yétorder. Proto-Hellenic *məňňómai Ancient Greek μαίνομαι (maínomai) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ f (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek μᾰνῐ́ᾱ (mănĭ́ā) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ᾰκός (-ăkós) Ancient Greek μανιακός (maniakós)bor. Late Latin maniacuslbor. French maniaquebor. English maniac From mania + -ac. Borrowed from French maniaque, from Late Latin maniacus, from Ancient Greek μανιακός (maniakós), adjectival form of μανία (manía, “madness”). Compare manic.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: maniacus, μανιακός
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmeɪ.niˌæk/
- British English: /ˈmeɪ.niˌæk/