hectic的词源

英文词源

hectic

hectic: [14] The use of hectic for referring to ‘great haste or confusion’ is a surprisingly recent development, not recorded before the first decade of the 20th century. It originally meant in English ‘suffering from fever, particularly of the sort that characterizes tuberculosis or septicaemia’ (the metaphorical progression to ‘feverishly active’ is an obvious one). English acquired the word via Old French etique and late Latin hecticus from Greek hektikós, which meant literally ‘habitual’, and hence ‘suffering from a habitual or recurrent fever, consumptive’.

It was a derivative of héxis ‘condition, habit’, which in turn was formed from the verb ékhein ‘hold, be in a particular condition’, which has also given English epoch. (The original English form of the word was etik; hectic represents a 16th-century return to the Latin form.)

hectic (adj.)

late 14c., etik (in fever etik), from Old French etique "consumptive," from Late Latin hecticus, from Greek hektikos "continuous, habitual, consumptive" (of a disease, because of the constant fever), from hexis "a habit (of mind or body)," from ekhein "have, hold, continue" (see scheme).

The Latin -h- was restored in English 16c. Sense of "feverishly exciting, full of disorganized activity" first recorded 1904, but hectic also was used in Middle English as a noun meaning "feverish desire, consuming passion" (early 15c.). Hectic fevers are characterized by rapid pulse, among other symptoms. Related: Hecticness.

中文词源

hectic（兴奋的）：由肺结核病引发的习惯性亢奋

古希腊名医盖伦（Galen）发现，有些病人脸部持续红热，像是发烧不退。因此，他 将这种病症称为hektikos（拉丁拼写方式为hecticus），意思是“持续的、习惯性的”。该词进入英语后，拼写形式变为hectic。15世纪 时，欧洲医生们依然沿用盖伦对这种病症的称呼，叫做hectic fever（痨热病）。到了近代，医生才知道这种病就是肺结核（phthisis）。

肺结核曾经有个美誉：“艺术家的疾病”。这是因为，肺结核病人时常发热，易于亢奋。在欧美历史中，曾经有很多著名艺术家都是肺结核病人。他们在患病期间充满创作热情，感受力敏锐，创作了很多杰作。得过肺结核的著名艺术家有：济慈、雪莱、拜伦、肖邦、歌德、席勒、梭罗、卡夫卡、契诃夫、劳伦斯、勃朗宁、勃朗特三姐妹、费雯·丽、托马斯·贝恩哈特、凯瑟琳·曼斯菲尔德、尤金·奥尼尔、托马斯·曼、柯南·道尔，还有中国的萧红、郁达夫等。有段时间，欧洲贵族们甚至以得肺结核为时尚，有些人主动去染上肺结核。

由于肺结核病容易引发亢奋，hectic一词也就产生了“兴奋的、狂热的”之意。

hectic：['hektɪk] adj.兴奋的，狂热的，脸色潮红的，肺病的，忙乱的n.脸色潮红，患肺结核

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：hectic 词源，hectic 含义。

hectic：忙碌的，繁忙的，因患肺病持续发烧的

来自希腊语ekhein,持有，保持，持续，词源同scheme,hector.引申词义持续的，忙碌的。发烧义缩写自hectic fever,原用于指肺结核的症状。