Mad
/mæd/noun
Mentally disturbed, angry, or wildly enthusiastic.
Did you know?In Old English, related forms meant “insane” or “foolish,” and the word’s deeper Germanic history may connect to ideas of being altered or damaged, not just emotional rage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*mada-
“altered, impaired, foolish”
Old English
OE
gemæd
“insane, foolish, out of one’s mind”
Middle English
ME
mad
“insane, crazed; later also furious”
14th Century
English
mad
“mentally deranged; later, angry”
Modern English
English
mad
“angry, insane, or intensely enthusiastic”