HECTIC

feverish, hectic

(adjective) marked by intense agitation or emotion; “worked at a feverish pace”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

hectic (comparative more hectic, superlative most hectic)

(obsolete) Denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption and similar wasting diseases, characterised by flushed cheeks and dry skin.

(obsolete) Pertaining to or symptomatic of such a fever.

Very busy with activity and confusion; feverish.

Synonyms

• feverish

Noun

hectic (plural hectics)

(obsolete) A hectic fever.

(obsolete) A flush like one produced by such a fever.

Source: Wiktionary


Hec"tic, a. Etym: [F. hectique, Gr. sah to overpower, endure; cf. AS. sige, sigor, victory, G. sieg, Goth. sigis. Cf. Scheme.]

1. Habitual; constitutional; pertaining especially to slow waste of animal tissue, as in consumption; as, a hectic type in disease; a hectic flush.

2. In a hectic condition; having hectic fever; consumptive; as, a hectic patient. Hectic fever (Med.), a fever of irritation and debility, occurring usually at a advanced stage of exhausting disease, as a in pulmonary consumption.

Hec"tic, n.

1. (Med.)

Definition: Hectic fever.

2. A hectic flush. It is no living hue, but a strange hectic. Byron.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

13 February 2025

BREAK

(verb) cause the failure or ruin of; “His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage”; “This play will either make or break the playwright”


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Coffee Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, coffee beans are not technically beans. They are referred to as such because of their resemblance to legumes. A coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.

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