[Vocabulary] hysteric or hysterical

Hi,

Could someone help me find out if there's any difference between 'hysteric' and hysterical'?


Thank you very much,
heyt

heyt said:

Hi,

Could someone help me find out if there's any difference between 'hysteric' and hysterical'?


Thank you very much,
heyt

Click to expand...

Hysteric = noun
Hysterical = adjective

emsr2d2 said:

Hysteric = noun
Hysterical = adjective

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Isn't the noun "hysteria" ?

euncu said:

Isn't the noun "hysteria" ?

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Sorry, I should have differentiated. Hysteria is the noun of the actual behaviour, but a person who is hysterical can be called "a hysteric". We also say, when we've been laughing very hard "I was in hysterics!"

She is a hysteric.
She suffers from hysteria.
She gets hysterical.

emsr2d2 said:

Sorry, I should have differentiated. Hysteria is the noun of the actual behaviour, but a person who is hysterical can be called "a hysteric". We also say, when we've been laughing very hard "I was in hysterics!"

She is a hysteric.
She suffers from hysteria.
She gets hysterical.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for elaborating.

Interesting (and sexist - as so much etymology is ;-)) link to the thread about Greek derivations: the Cl. Greek for 'womb' was ύστερος - so hysteria was originally a strictly female weakness.

b

Note also the term 'histrionic'.
This is also a behaviour type and differs in some respects to 'hysterical' behaviour.

In psychology, 'hysteria' is classified as neurosis. 'Histrionic' behaviour generally occurs as a personality trait/disorder.
Histrionic personality disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

People with a histrionic personality are more likely to have 'hysterics' and possibly more likely to develop a hysterical disorder.

Actors/actresses, show people, and entertainers often have histrionic personality types.