Frantic
/ˈfræn.tɪk/noun
Wildly excited, frantic, or emotionally out of control.
Did you know?Frantic ultimately comes from a Greek word for a person seized by a divine or supernatural force—so the word has always lived in the borderland between emotion and possession.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
phrenitikos
“Delirious or insane, from the mind or diaphragm”
Late Latin
Latin
phreneticus
“Mad, delirious, feverish”
Old French
Old French
frenetique
“Mad, frenzied, feverish”
Middle English
English
frentik
“Mad, mentally deranged, delirious”
16th–17th Century
English
frantic
“Wildly agitated, mentally or emotionally deranged”
Modern English
English
frantic
“Wildly excited, hurried, or out of control”