Half-mad

[mad] /mæd/

adjective, madder, maddest.
1.
mentally disturbed; deranged; insane; demented.
2.
enraged; greatly provoked or irritated; angry.
3.

4.
extremely foolish or unwise; imprudent; irrational:
a mad scheme to invade France.
5.
wildly excited or confused; frantic:
mad haste.
6.
overcome by desire, eagerness, enthusiasm, etc.; excessively or uncontrollably fond; infatuated:
He’s mad about the opera.
7.
wildly gay or merry; enjoyably hilarious:
to have a mad time at the Mardi Gras.
8.
(of wind, storms, etc.) furious in violence:
A mad gale swept across the channel.
noun
9.
an angry or ill-tempered period, mood, or spell:
The last time he had a mad on, it lasted for days.
verb (used with object), madded, madding.
10.
Archaic. to make mad.
verb (used without object), madded, madding.
11.
Archaic. to be, become, or act mad.
Idioms
12.
like mad, Informal. with great haste, impulsiveness, energy, or enthusiasm:
She ran like mad to catch the bus.
13.
mad as a hatter, completely insane.
adjective
1.
not entirely sane
2.
extremely upset or distracted: half-mad with fear
/mæd/
adjective madder, maddest
1.
mentally deranged; insane
2.
senseless; foolish: a mad idea
3.
(often foll by at) (informal) angry; resentful
4.
foll by about, on, or over; often postpositive. wildly enthusiastic (about) or fond (of): mad about football, football-mad
5.
extremely excited or confused; frantic: a mad rush
6.
temporarily overpowered by violent reactions, emotions, etc: mad with grief
7.
(of animals)

8.
(informal) like mad, with great energy, enthusiasm, or haste; wildly
9.
mad as a hatter, crazily eccentric
verb mads, madding, madded
10.
(archaic) to make or become mad; act or cause to act as if mad
/mæd/
noun acronym (US)
1.
mutual assured destruction: a theory of nuclear deterrence whereby each side in a conflict has the capacity to destroy the other in retaliation for a nuclear attack
adj.

late 13c., from Old English gemædde (plural) “out of one’s mind” (usually implying also violent excitement), also “foolish, extremely stupid,” earlier gemæded “rendered insane,” past participle of a lost verb *gemædan “to make insane or foolish,” from Proto-Germanic *ga-maid-jan, demonstrative form of *ga-maid-az “changed (for the worse), abnormal” (cf. Old Saxon gimed “foolish,” Old High German gimeit “foolish, vain, boastful,” Gothic gamaiþs “crippled, wounded,” Old Norse meiða “to hurt, maim”), from intensive prefix *ga- + PIE *moito-, past participle of root *mei- “to change” (cf. Latin mutare “to change,” mutuus “done in exchange,” migrare “to change one’s place of residence;” see mutable).

Emerged in Middle English to replace the more usual Old English word, wod (see wood (adj.)). Sense of “beside oneself with excitement or enthusiasm” is from early 14c. Meaning “beside oneself with anger” is attested from early 14c., but deplored by Rev. John Witherspoon (1781) as an Americanism. It now competes in American English with angry for this sense. Of animals, “affected with rabies,” from late 13c. Phrase mad as a March hare is attested from 1520s, via notion of breeding season; mad as a hatter is from 1829 as “demented,” 1837 as “enraged,” according to a modern theory supposedly from erratic behavior caused by prolonged exposure to poison mercuric nitrate, used in making felt hats. For mad as a wet hen see hen. Mad money is attested from 1922; mad scientist is from 1891.
adv.

late 14c., from mad (adj.).

mad (mād)
adj.

adjective

Related Terms

like mad
1.
Barajas Airport (Madrid, Spain)
2.
Morocco-dirham (currency)
3.
mutually assured destruction