Hysterical
Pronunciation
- IPA: /hɪ ˈstɛrɪkəl/
Origin
From hysteric + -al, from Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ὑστεÏικός (husterikos, "suffering in the womb, hysterical"), from ὑστεÏά (hustera, "womb").
Full definition of hysterical
Adjective
hysterical
- Of, or arising from hysteria.
- Having, or prone to having hysterics.
- Provoking uncontrollable laughter.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 2, She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, …; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, …—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.