nympholepsy Hear it!

nympholepsy definition

nympho·lepsy (nim′fō lep′sē, -fə-)

noun

  1. in ancient times, a state of frenzy that was believed to seize any man who looked at a nymph
  2. a violent emotional state arising as from frustrated idealism

Etymology: < Gr nympholēptos, seized by nymphs (< nymphē + -lēptos, seized < lambanein, to seize, assume: see lemma), infl. by epilepsy

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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