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mania

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ma⋅ni⋅a

  [mey-nee-uh, meyn-yuh]
Use mania in a Sentence
–noun
1. excessive excitement or enthusiasm; craze: The country has a mania for soccer.
2. Psychiatry. manic disorder.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L < Gk manía madness; akin to maenad, mind
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Ma⋅ni⋅a

  [mey-nee-uh, meyn-yuh]
–noun
an ancient Roman goddess of the dead.

-mania

 
a combining form of mania (megalomania); extended to mean “enthusiasm, often of an extreme and transient nature,” for that specified by the initial element (bibliomania).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ma·ni·a   (mā'nē-ə, mān'yə)   
n.  

  1. An excessively intense enthusiasm, interest, or desire; a craze: a mania for neatness.

  2. Psychiatry A manifestation of bipolar disorder, characterized by profuse and rapidly changing ideas, exaggerated sexuality, gaiety, or irritability, and decreased sleep.

  3. Violent abnormal behavior. See Synonyms at insanity.


[Middle English, madness, from Late Latin, from Greek maniā; see men-1 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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Cultural Dictionary

mania [(may-nee-uh)]

Violent, abnormal, or impulsive behavior. In psychological terms, mania is wild activity associated with manic depression.

Note: A “mania” in popular terms is an intense enthusiasm or craze.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mania 
c.1400, "mental derangement characterized by excitement and delusion," from L.L. mania "insanity, madness," from Gk. mania "madness," related to mainesthai "to rage, go mad," mantis "seer," menos "passion, spirit," all from PIE *men- "to think, to have one's mind aroused, rage, be furious" (see mind (n.)). Sense of "fad, craze" is 1689, from Fr. manie. Used since 1500s (in imitation of Gk.) as the second element in compounds expressing particular types of madness (cf. nymphomania, 1775; kleptomania, 1830; megalomania, 1890).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ma·nia
Pronunciation: 'mA-nE-&, -ny&
Function: noun
: excitement of psychotic proportions manifested by mental and physicalhyperactivity, disorganization of behavior, and elevation of mood; specifically : the manic phase of bipolar disorder
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

mania ma·ni·a (mā'nē-ə, mān'yə)
n.
A manifestation of bipolar disorder characterized by profuse and rapidly changing ideas, exaggerated gaiety, and excessive physical activity.

-mania suff.
An abnormal compulsion or an extreme love for: pyromania.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

mania

in psychiatric terminology, any abnormal or unusual state of excitement, as in the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

Learn more about mania with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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