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Origin and history of lunacy

lunacy(n.)

1540s, "condition of being a lunatic," formed irregularly in English from lunatic (q.v.) + -cy. Originally in reference to intermittent periods of insanity, such as were believed to be triggered by the moon's cycle. The Old English equivalent was monaðseocnes "month-sickness." In later legal use, any unsoundness of mind sufficient to render one incapable of civil transactions or management of one's affairs. Weakened figurative sense "act of madness or folly" is from 1580s.

also from 1540s

Entries linking to lunacy

lunatic(adj.)

late 13c., "affected with periodic insanity dependent on the changes of the moon," from Old French lunatique "insane," or directly from Late Latin lunaticus "moon-struck," from Latin luna "moon" (see luna).

Compare Old English monseoc "lunatic," literally "moon-sick;" Middle High German lune "humor, temper, mood, whim, fancy" (German Laune), from Latin luna. Compare also New Testament Greek selēniazomai "be epileptic," from selēnē "moon."

Lunatic fringe (1913) was popularized and apparently coined by U.S. politician Theodore Roosevelt.

Then, among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it — the men who form the lunatic fringe in all reform movements. [Theodore Roosevelt, autobiography, 1913].

Earlier it was a term for a type of hairstyle worn over the forehead (1877). Lunatic soup (1918) was slang for "alcoholic drink" or several different alcoholic drinks taken together.

-cy

abstract noun suffix of quality or rank, ultimately representing in English Latin -cia, -tia (see -ia) but a living word-forming element in modern English. The native correspondents are -ship, -hood.

*leuk-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "light, brightness."

It might form all or part of: allumette; elucidate; illumination; illustration; lea; leukemia; leuko-; light (n.) "brightness, radiant energy;" lightning; limn; link (n.2) "torch of pitch, tow, etc.;" lucent; lucid; Lucifer; luciferase; luciferous; lucifugous; lucubrate; lucubration; luculent; lumen; Luminal; luminary; luminate; luminescence; luminous; luna; lunacy; lunar; Lunarian; lunate; lunation; lunatic; lune; lunette; luni-; luster; lustrum; lux; pellucid; sublunary; translucent.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit rocate "shines;" Armenian lois "light," lusin "moon;" Greek leukos "bright, shining, white;" Latin lucere "to shine," lux "light," lucidus "clear;" Old Church Slavonic luci "light;" Lithuanian laukas "pale;" Welsh llug "gleam, glimmer;" Old Irish loche "lightning," luchair "brightness;" Hittite lukezi "is bright;" Old English leht, leoht "light, daylight; spiritual illumination," German Licht, Gothic liuhaþ "light."

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    folly
    early 13c., "mental weakness; foolish behavior or character; unwise conduct" (in Middle English including wickedness, lewdness, madness), from Old French folie "folly, madness, stupidity" (12c.), from fol (see fool (n.)). From c. 1300 as "an example of foolishness;" sense of "cos
    indulgence
    mid-14c., in the Church sense, "a freeing from temporal punishment for sin, remission from punishment for sin that remains due after absolution," from Old French indulgence or directly from Latin indulgentia "complaisance, a yielding; fondness, tenderness, affection; remission,"
    solipsism
    proof that so-called "theoretical egoism" or "Solipsism" (the assumption by any one man that he alone exists) is a piece of lunacy...
    frolic
    "make merry, have fun, romp playfully," 1580s, from frolic (adj.) "joyous, merry, full of mirth" (1530s), from Middle Dutch vrolyc "happy," a compound of vro- "merry, glad" + lyc "like" (see like (adj.)). The first part of the compound is cognate with Old Norse frar "swift," Midd
    caper
    "to leap, skip, prance," 1580s, apparently short for obsolete capriole "to leap, skip," which is probably from Italian capriolare "jump in the air" (see cab). Related: Capered; capering....type of prickly Mediterranean bush, also in reference to the plant's edible buds, late 14c.
    play
    Middle English pleien, from Old English plegan, plegian "move lightly and quickly, occupy or busy oneself, amuse oneself; engage in active exercise; frolic; engage in children's play; make sport of, mock; perform music." It is from Proto-West Germanic *plegōjanan "occupy oneself
    insanity
    1580s, "state of being insane, seriously impaired state of mental functioning," from Latin insanitatem (nominative insanitas) "unhealthfulness, unsoundness, disease," noun of quality from insanus "mad, insane; outrageous, excessive" (see insane). Meaning "extreme folly" is from 1
    prank
    "a ludicrous trick" [Johnson], played sometimes in malice but more often in sport, 1520s, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps related to the obsolete verb prank "act ostentatiously, show off" (mid-15c.), also "to decorate, adorn in a showy manner" (1540s), which is related to Mid
    device
    c. 1300, devis, "intent, desire; an expressed intent or desire; a plan or design; a literary composition," from Old French devis "division, separation; disposition, wish, desire; coat of arms, emblem; a bequest in a will, act of bequeathing," from deviser "arrange, plan, contrive
    sad
    Old English sæd "sated, full, having had one's fill (of food, drink, fighting, etc.), weary of," from Proto-Germanic *sathaz (source also of Old Norse saðr, Middle Dutch sat, Dutch zad, Old High German sat, German satt, Gothic saþs "satiated, sated, full"), from PIE *seto-, from

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