panic

The word 'panic' has a direct and vivid origin in Greek mythology. It derives from the name of the god Pan, a rustic deity associated with the wilderness. Ancient Greeks attributed sudden, irrational terror experienced by travelers in remote, lonely places to the unseen presence of Pan. This specific association of the god's name with a particular type of fear was encoded in the Greek adjective 'panikos'. The term was later adopted into Latin as 'panicus' and subsequently entered English in the 17th century, where it generalized to describe any sudden, overwhelming fear, losing its explicit mythological connection but retaining the core concept of irrational, infectious dread.

The word 'panic' is a simplex loanword. It originates from the Greek adjective 'panikos', meaning 'of Pan'. Pan was the Greek god of the wild, shepherds, and flocks, who was believed to be the source of mysterious, groundless fear experienced in lonely places.