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Origin and history of mad

mad(adj.)

late 13c., "disordered in intellect, demented, crazy, insane," from Old English gemædde "out of one's mind" (usually implying also violent excitement), also "foolish, extremely stupid," earlier gemæded "rendered insane," past participle of a lost verb *gemædan "to make insane or foolish," from Proto-Germanic *gamaidjan, demonstrative form of *gamaidaz "changed (for the worse), abnormal" (source also of Old Saxon gimed "foolish," Old High German gimeit "foolish, vain, boastful," Gothic gamaiþs "crippled, wounded," Old Norse meiða "to hurt, maim").

This apparently is from the Germanic intensive prefix *ga- + PIE *moito-, past participle of root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move" (source also of Latin mutare "to change," migrare "to change one's place of residence"). In Middle English usurped the place of the more usual Old English word, wod (see wood (adj.)).

The meanings "beside oneself with excitement or enthusiasm, under the influence of uncontrollable emotion" and "enraged, furious, beside oneself with anger" are attested from early 14c., but the latter was deplored by Rev. John Witherspoon (1781) as an Americanism. It now competes in American English with angry for this sense. Of animals, "affected with rabies, furious from disease" from late 13c.

To do something like mad "recklessly, as if mad or crazy" is by 1650s. Phrase mad as a March hare is attested from 1520s, via notion of breeding season. For mad as a wet hen see hen. For mad as a hatter, see hatter.

Mad money, which a young woman carries for use in getting home when she and her date have a falling out, is attested by 1922; mad scientist, one so eccentric as to be dangerous or evil, is by 1891. Mad Libs, the word game (based on the idea in consequences, etc.), was first published in 1958,

also from late 13c.

mad(adv.)

"strangely, madly," late 14c., from mad (adj.).

also from late 14c.

mad(v.)

"make furious, enrage," also "be out of one's mind," late 14c., from Old English gemædan "make insane" (see mad (adj.)).

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to mad

angry(adj.)

late 14c., "hot-tempered, irascible; incensed, openly wrathful," from anger (n.) + -y (2). The Old Norse adjective was ongrfullr "sorrowful," and Middle English had angerful "anxious, eager" (mid-13c.). Angry young man dates to 1941 but was popularized in reference to John Osborne's play "Look Back in Anger" (produced 1956) though the exact phrase does not occur in that work. Related: Angriness.

"There are three words in the English language that end in -gry. Two of them are angry and hungry. What is the third?" There is no third (except some extremely obscure ones). Richard Lederer calls this "one of the most outrageous and time-wasting linguistic hoaxes in our nation's history" and traces it to a New York TV quiz show from early 1975.

consequences(n.)

see consequence. As the name of a round game, attested from 1796.

A game in which one player writes down an adjective, the second the name of a man, the third an adjective, the fourth the name of a woman, the fifth what he said, the sixth what she said, the seventh the consequence, etc., etc., no one seeing what the others have written. After all have written, the paper is read. [Century Dictionary]