Definition lunacy1/26/2024 ![]() It was believed that epilepsy seizures were triggered by moonlight hence lunatic was used for those patients. Why does "lunatic" have a stronger connotation than crazy, insane, out of mind, etc.?Įdit: commented, "In France, lunatique means something along the lines of erratic or mercurial." ![]() If someone was called crazy just because he was affected by the Moon's cycle, is there a word that has anything to do with the Sun's cycle meaning "a bit less crazy" or "more mentally stable than lunatic", etc? Was there any etymological reason why they had to use "lunatic" in place of "lunar" for "crazy"? How did "lunatic" evolve to mean "crazy"? (I could guess, but I don't exactly understand what " moon-struck" and " moon-sick" mean in the the above.)ĭoes suffix "-tic" have any special function itself or was it just used to make a different adjective from "lunar" because the Moon was called "luna" in Latin? I found a list of words that ends with "-tic", but I can't find anything in common. "Lunar" and "Lunatic" seem to have evolved in a different way. "be epileptic," from selene "moon." Lunatic fringe (1913) apparently ![]() Compare also New Testament Greek seleniazomai Middle High German lune "humor, temper, mood, whim, fancy" (German Compare Old English monseoc "lunatic," literally " moon-sick " Of the moon," from Old French lunatique, lunage "insane," or directlyįrom Late Latin lunaticus " moon-struck," from Latin luna "moon" (see Late 13c., "affected with periodic insanity, dependent on the changes I know what the word " lunatic" means and it has something to do with the "Moon" as the "Online Etymology Dictionary" explains:
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