cacoethes

[kak-oh-ee-theez] Origin

cac·o·ë·thes

[kak-oh-ee-theez]
noun
an irresistible urge; mania.
Also, cac·o·e·thes.


Origin:
1555–65; < Latin < Greek kakóēthes, neuter (used as noun) of kakoḗthēs malignant, literally, of bad character; see caco-, ethos
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Cacoethes is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
cacoethes (ˌkækəʊˈiːθiːz)
 
n
an uncontrollable urge or desire, esp for something harmful; mania: a cacoethes for smoking
 
[C16: from Latin cacoēthes malignant disease, from Greek kakoēthēs of an evil disposition, from kakoscaco- + ēthos character]
 
cacoethic
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cacoethes
"itch for doing something," 1560s, from L., from Gk. kakoethes "ill-habit, wickedness, itch for doing (something)," from kakos "bad" + ethe- "disposition, character" (see ethos). Most famously, in Juvenal's insanabile scribendi cacoethes "incurable passion for writing."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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