hysterical
UK[hɪˈsterɪkl]US[hɪˈsterɪkl]
adj
feeling or expressing extreme, uncontrolled emotion, such as fear, anger, or excitement, often with crying or laughter
adj
extremely funny
Morpheme Breakdown
hyster
ic
al
hyster
womb
ic
adjective suffix
al
adjective suffix
Etymology
the word 'hysterical' originates from the greek 'hystera', meaning womb. in ancient greek medicine, it was believed that certain emotional disturbances, particularly in women, were caused by disorders of the womb. this gave rise to the latin term 'hystericus' and later the english 'hysteric', pertaining to hysteria. over time, the term broadened from its specific, gendered medical origin to describe any state of extreme, uncontrollable emotion or, colloquially, something exceedingly funny, thereby evolving from a literal anatomical reference to abstract psychological and emotional descriptions.
Analysis
Structure: hyster (womb) + ic (adjective suffix) + al (adjective suffix)
hyster (from greek 'hystera', meaning womb); ic (from latin '-icus', greek '-ikos', forming adjectives); al (from latin '-alis', forming adjectives meaning 'pertaining to').
Examples
she became hysterical when she heard the tragic news.
the audience was hysterical with laughter throughout the comedian's performance.
his story about the mistaken identity was absolutely hysterical.