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maniac

 [mey-nee-ak]   Example Sentences Origin

ma·ni·ac

   [mey-nee-ak]
noun
1.
a raving or violently insane person; lunatic.
2.
any intemperate or overly zealous or enthusiastic person: a maniac when it comes to details.
adjective
3.
maniacal.

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Maniac is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
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Origin:
1595–1605; < Medieval Latin maniacus of, pertaining to madness. See mania, -ac
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Example Sentences
  • It's the maniac nonsmokers who are destroying her health.
  • On one hand, the idea of a crazy maniac on board is spine chilling.
  • Either that or some sort of back-street underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
maniac (ˈmeɪnɪˌæk)
 
—n
1.  a wild disorderly person
2.  a person who has a great craving or enthusiasm for something: a football maniac
3.  obsolete psychiatry a person afflicted with mania
 
[C17: from Late Latin maniacus belonging to madness, from Greek]

maniacal or maniac (məˈnaɪəkəl, ˈmeɪnɪæk)
 
—adj
1.  affected with or characteristic of mania
2.  characteristic of or befitting a maniac: maniacal laughter
 
maniac or maniac
 
—adj
 
ma'niacally or maniac
 
—adv

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

maniac
1604, from Fr. maniaque, from L.L. maniacus, from Gk. maniakos, from mania (see mania). The noun is attested from 1763, from the adj.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

maniac ma·ni·ac (mā'nē-āk')
n.
An insane person.

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