delirium
(noun) a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations
craze, delirium, frenzy, fury, hysteria
(noun) state of violent mental agitation
Source: WordNet® 3.1
delirium (countable and uncountable, plural deliriums or deliria)
A temporary mental state with a sudden onset, usually reversible, including symptoms of confusion, inability to concentrate, disorientation, anxiety, and sometimes hallucinations. Causes can include dehydration, drug intoxication, and severe infection.
Source: Wiktionary
De*lir"i*um, n. Etym: [L., fr. delirare to rave, to wander in mind, prop., to go out of the furrow in plowing; de- + lira furrow, track; perh. akin to G. geleise track, rut, and E. last to endure.]
1. (Med.)
Definition: A state in which the thoughts, expressions, and actions are wild, irregular, and incoherent; mental aberration; a roving or wandering of the mind, -- usually dependent on a fever or some other disease, and so distinguished from mania, or madness.
2. Strong excitement; wild enthusiasm; madness. The popular delirium [of the French Revolution] at first caught his enthusiastic mind. W. Irving. The delirium of the preceding session (of Parliament). Motley. Delirium tremens (. Etym: [L., trembling delirium] (Med.), a violent delirium induced by the excessive and prolonged use of intoxicating liquors.
– Traumatic delirium (Med.), a variety of delirium following injury.
Syn.
– Insanity; frenzy; madness; derangement; aberration; mania; lunacy; fury. See Insanity.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 April 2025
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
