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hectic . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
hectic , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
hectic in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
hectic you have here. The definition of the word
hectic will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
hectic , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English etik , ethik , from Old French etique , from Medieval Latin *hecticus , from Ancient Greek ἑκτικός ( hektikós , “ habitual, hectic, consumptive ” ) , from ἕξις ( héxis , “ a state or habit of body or of mind, condition ” ) , from ἔχειν ( ékhein , “ to have, hold, be in a certain state ” ) .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ˈhɛktɪk/
Audio (Southern England) (file )
Rhymes: -ɛktɪk
Hyphenation: hec‧tic
Adjective
hectic (comparative more hectic , superlative most hectic )
( figurative ) Very busy with activity and confusion .
Synonym: feverish
The city center is so hectic at 8 in the morning that I go to work an hour beforehand to avoid the crowds
( obsolete ) Denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption and similar wasting diseases, characterised by flushed cheeks and dry skin.
hectic fever
( obsolete ) Pertaining to or symptomatic of such a fever.
1826 , [Mary Shelley ], chapter I, in The Last Man. , volume III, London: Henry Colburn , , →OCLC :She never complained, but sleep and appetite fled from her, a slow fever preyed on her veins, her colour was hectic , and she often wept in secret [ …] .
Derived terms
Translations
very busy with activity and confusion
Bulgarian: възбуден (bg) ( vǎzbuden ) , неспокоен (bg) ( nespokoen )
Catalan: frenètic (ca) , agitat (ca) , febril
Chinese:
Mandarin: 忙碌的 ( mánglù de ) , 繁忙的 ( fánmáng de )
Czech: hektický (cs)
Dutch: hectisch (nl)
Finnish: kuumeinen (fi) , kiihkeä (fi) , hektinen (fi)
French: agité (fr)
German: hektisch (de)
Italian: febbrile (it) , frenetico (it) m
Macedonian: во́збуден ( vózbuden ) , неспо́коен ( nespókoen )
Polish: hektyczny (pl)
Portuguese: febril (pt) , frenético (pt)
Romanian: agitat (ro) , febril (ro)
Russian: лихора́дочный (ru) ( lixorádočnyj ) , суетли́вый (ru) ( sujetlívyj ) , сумато́шный (ru) ( sumatóšnyj )
Spanish: ajetreado (es) , febril (es) , agobiante (es) , frenético
Swedish: jäktig (sv)
Ukrainian: гарячковий m ( harjačkovyj ) , метушливий m ( metušlyvyj )
denoting a type of fever accompanying consumption
Noun
hectic (plural hectics )
( obsolete ) A hectic fever .
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare , “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , , page 273 :[ …] Do it England, / For like the Hecticke in my blood he rages, / And thou muſt cure me: [ …]
( obsolete ) A flush like one produced by such a fever.
1819 July 15, [Lord Byron ], Don Juan , London: Thomas Davison , , →OCLC , canto II, stanza 147:For still he lay, and on his thin worn cheek / A purple hectic played like dying day / On the snow-tops of distant hills [ …]
1863 , Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard :an angry hectic in each cheek, a fierce flirt of her fan, and two or three short sniffs that betokened mischief
Further reading
“hectic ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913 , →OCLC .
“hectic ”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911 , →OCLC .
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French hectique .
Adjective
hectic m or n (feminine singular hectică , masculine plural hectici , feminine and neuter plural hectice )
hectic
Declension