hectic
English
Etymology
From Old French etique, from Medieval Latin *hecticus, from Ancient Greek ἑκτικός (hektikós, “habitual, hectic, consumptive”), from ἕξις (héxis, “a state or habit of body or of mind, condition”), from ἔχειν (ékhein, “to have, hold, intransitive be in a certain state”).
Adjective
hectic (comparative more hectic, superlative most hectic)
- (obsolete) Pertaining to bodily reactions characterised by flushed or dry skin.
- hectic fever; a hectic patient
- 1826, Mary Shelley, The Last Man, volume 3, chapter 1
- She never complained, but sleep and appetite fled from her, a slow fever preyed on her veins, her colour was hectic, and she often wept in secret [...]
- Very busy with activity and confusion; feverish.
- The city center is so hectic at 8 in the morning that I go to work an hour beforehand to avoid the crowds
Synonyms
Derived terms
- hectically
- hecticity
- hectivity
Translations
of a fever whose intensity fluctuates
very busy with activity and confusion
Noun
hectic (plural hectics)
- (obsolete) A hectic fever.
- c. 1600,, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 3,
- […] Do it, England;
- For like the hectic in my blood he rages,
- And thou must cure me.
- c. 1600,, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 3,
- (obsolete) A flush like one produced by such a fever.
- 1768, Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, London: T. Becket & P.A. De Hondt, Volume 1, p. 17,
- The poor Franciscan made no reply: a hectic of a moment pass’d across his cheek, but could not tarry […]
- 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.147:
- For still he lay, and on his thin worn cheek / A purple hectic played like dying day / On the snow-tops of distant hills […]
- 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard
- an angry hectic in each cheek, a fierce flirt of her fan, and two or three short sniffs that betokened mischief
- 1768, Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, London: T. Becket & P.A. De Hondt, Volume 1, p. 17,
Further reading
- hectic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- hectic in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
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