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ecstasy - 8 dictionary results
ec⋅sta⋅sy
[ek-stuh-see] 
–noun, plural -sies.
| 1. | rapturous delight. |
| 2. | an overpowering emotion or exaltation; a state of sudden, intense feeling. |
| 3. | the frenzy of poetic inspiration. |
| 4. | mental transport or rapture from the contemplation of divine things. |
Origin:
1350–1400; ME extasie < MF < ML extasis < Gk ékstasis displacement, trance, equiv. to ek- ec- + stásis stasis
1350–1400; ME extasie < MF < ML extasis < Gk ékstasis displacement, trance, equiv. to ek- ec- + stásis stasis
Synonyms:
2. delight, bliss, elation. Ecstasy, rapture, transport, exaltation share a sense of being taken or moved out of one's self or one's normal state, and entering a state of intensified or heightened feeling. Ecstasy suggests an intensification of emotion so powerful as to produce a trancelike dissociation from all but the single overpowering feeling: an ecstasy of rage, grief, love. Rapture shares the power of ecstasy but most often refers to an elevated sensation of bliss or delight, either carnal or spiritual: the rapture of first love. Transport, somewhat less extreme than either ecstasy or rapture, implies a strength of feeling that results in expression of some kind: They jumped up and down in a transport of delight. Exaltation refers to a heady sense of personal well-being so powerful that one is lifted above normal emotional levels and above normal people: wild exaltation at having finally broken the record.
2. delight, bliss, elation. Ecstasy, rapture, transport, exaltation share a sense of being taken or moved out of one's self or one's normal state, and entering a state of intensified or heightened feeling. Ecstasy suggests an intensification of emotion so powerful as to produce a trancelike dissociation from all but the single overpowering feeling: an ecstasy of rage, grief, love. Rapture shares the power of ecstasy but most often refers to an elevated sensation of bliss or delight, either carnal or spiritual: the rapture of first love. Transport, somewhat less extreme than either ecstasy or rapture, implies a strength of feeling that results in expression of some kind: They jumped up and down in a transport of delight. Exaltation refers to a heady sense of personal well-being so powerful that one is lifted above normal emotional levels and above normal people: wild exaltation at having finally broken the record.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To ecstasy
| ec·sta·sy (ěk'stə-sē) n. pl. ec·sta·sies
[Middle English extasie, from Old French, from Late Latin extasis, terror, from Greek ekstasis, astonishment, distraction, from existanai, to displace, derange : ek-, out of; see ecto- + histanai, to place; see stā- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ecstasy
Ec"sta*sy\, n.; pl. Ecstasies. [F. extase, L. ecstasis, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to put out of place, derange; ? = ? out + ? to set, stand. See Ex-, and Stand.] [Also written extasy.]1. The state of being beside one's self or rapt out of one's self; a state in which the mind is elevated above the reach of ordinary impressions, as when under the influence of overpowering emotion; an extraordinary elevation of the spirit, as when the soul, unconscious of sensible objects, is supposed to contemplate heavenly mysteries. Like a mad prophet in an ecstasy. --Dryden. This is the very ecstasy of love. --Shak. 2. Excessive and overmastering joy or enthusiasm; rapture; enthusiastic delight. He on the tender grass Would sit, and hearken even to ecstasy. --Milton. 3. Violent distraction of mind; violent emotion; excessive grief of anxiety; insanity; madness. [Obs.] That unmatched form and feature of blown youth Blasted with ecstasy. --Shak. Our words will but increase his ecstasy. --Marlowe. 4. (Med.) A state which consists in total suspension of sensibility, of voluntary motion, and largely of mental power. The body is erect and inflexible; the pulsation and breathing are not affected. --Mayne.Ecstasy
Ec"sta*sy\, v. t. To fill ecstasy, or with rapture or enthusiasm. [Obs.] The most ecstasied order of holy . . . spirits. --Jer. Taylor.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ecstasy
Spanish:
éxtasiséxtasis,
German:
die Ekstase, die Verzückung,
Japanese:
有頂天
ecstasy
1382, "in a frenzy or stupor, fearful, excited," from O.Fr. extasie, from L.L. extasis, from Gk. ekstasis "trance, distraction," from existanai "displace," also "drive out of one's mind" (existanai phrenon), from ek "out" + histanai "to place, cause to stand," from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Used by 17c. mystical writers for "a state of rapture that stupefied the body while the soul contemplated divine things," which probably helped the meaning shift to "exalted state of good feeling" (1620). Slang use for the drug 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine dates from 1985. Ecstatic "rapturously happy" is from 1664.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ec·sta·sy
Pronunciation: 'ek-st&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -sies
1 : a trance statein which intense absorption (as in religious ideation) is accompanied by loss of sense perception and voluntary control
2 often cap : a synthetic amphetamine analogC11H15NO2 used illicitly for its mood-enhancing and hallucinogenic properties called also MDMA, methylenedioxymethamphetamine, XTC —ec·stat·ic /ek-'stat-ik/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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ecstasy ec·sta·sy (ěk'stə-sē)
n.
MDMA.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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ecstasy
in mysticism, the experience of an inner vision of God or of one's relation to or union with the divine. Various methods have been used to achieve ecstasy, which is a primary goal in most forms of religious mysticism. The most typical consists of four stages: (1) purgation (of bodily desire); (2) purification (of the will); (3) illumination (of the mind); and (4) unification (of one's being or will with the divine). Other methods are: dancing (as used by the Mawlawiyah, or whirling dervishes, a Muslim Sufi sect); the use of sedatives and stimulants (as utilized in some Hellenistic mystery religions); and the use of certain drugs, such as peyote, mescaline, hashish, LSD, and similar products (in certain Islamic sects and modern experimental religious groups). Most mystics, both in the East and in the West, frown on the use of drugs because no permanent change in the personality (in the mystical sense) has been known to occur.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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