Icarus Syndrome
/ˈɪkərəs ˈsɪndroʊm/noun
A pattern of overambitious behavior in which confidence or success leads to dangerous overreach and failure.
Did you know?Icarus is not an ancient medical diagnosis: the modern phrase borrows the Greek myth of a daring flight to symbolize psychological or organizational overreach.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek myth
Greek
Ἴκαρος (Ikaros)
“Icarus, the youth who flew with wings made by Daedalus and fell after flying too near the Sun.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σύνδρομον (sýndromon)
“A concurrence or combination of circumstances; literally, things running together.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σύν (syn) + δρόμος (dromos)
“Together + a running or course; the source of the later medical sense of syndrome.”
17th Century
English
syndrome
“A group of symptoms or characteristics occurring together, borrowed through Modern Latin from Greek.”
20th Century
English
Icarus syndrome
“A modern metaphorical expression for self-destructive ambition, excessive confidence, or hazardous overreach.”
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