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How Manic Arrived in English

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A mental health therapist wonders about the origin of the term manic. It derives from Greek mania, meaning “madness” or “frenzy,” from an older root that gives us mind and mental. From the same root comes maniac. The word mania is now part of such terms as nymphomania, kleptomania, megalomania, and Beatlemania. This is part of a complete episode.

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