Hectic

Alternative forms

• hectick obsolete

Origin

From Old French etique, from Medieval Latin *hecticus, from Ancient Greek έκτικός (ektikos, "habitual, hectic, consumptive"), from έξις (exis, "a state or habit of body or of mind, condition"), from ἔχειν (ekhein, "to have, hold, intransitive be in a certain state").

Full definition of hectic

Adjective

1. Pertaining to bodily reactions characterised by flushed or dry skin.hectic fever; a hectic patient
2. 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

• feverish

Derived terms

• hectically

Noun

1. (obsolete) A hectic fever.
2. (obsolete) A flush like one produced by such a fever.
• 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 ....