inebriated
Meaning
very drunk or intoxicated with alcohol.
(figuratively) exhilarated or excited as if by alcohol.
Structure
Usage
after the celebration, he was too inebriated to drive home safely.
the crowd was inebriated with joy after their team's championship victory.
she gave an inebriated speech at the wedding, much to the amusement of the guests.
Etymology
The word 'inebriated' has a direct lineage from Latin. It originates from the Latin verb 'inebriare', which means 'to make drunk', itself formed from the combination of the intensive prefix 'in-' and the adjective 'ebrius', meaning 'drunk'. The root 'ebrius' is of uncertain deeper origin, though some scholars tentatively link it to the Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to drink'. The literal construction 'put into a state of drunkenness' has been preserved in English, where it first described physical intoxication. Over time, its usage expanded metaphorically to describe a state of intense excitement or exhilaration not induced by alcohol, illustrating a classic semantic broadening from a concrete physical condition to an abstract emotional one.
Analysis
in- (latin prefix, meaning 'in, into, on'), ebri- (from latin 'ebrius', meaning 'drunk'), -ated (latin-derived adjective suffix, meaning 'characterized by, having the quality of').