LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

dēlīrium

dēlīrium n (genitive dēlīriī or dēlīrī)
Classical[deːˈliː.ri.ũː]Ecclesiastical[deˈliː.ri.um]

Meaning

  1. Delirium, madness, frenzy.
    […] aut quī febre aequē nōn quiēscente simul et dēlīrio et spīrandī difficultāte vexātur […][…] or when, likewise without the fever subsiding, he is distressed at once by delirium and difficulty in breathing […]c. 47 C.E., Aulus Cornelius Celsus, De Medicina, 2.7.28:

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Amens · Demens · Insanus · Vesanus · Excors · Vecors · Furor · Delirium · Rabies · Cerritus · Lymphatus

1. Amentia shows itself negatively and passively; dementia, positively and energetically. The amens is without reason, and either acts not at all, or acts without reason, like the idiot, ἄφρων; the demens, while he fancies that he is doing right, acts in direct opposition to reason, like the madman, παράφρων. Hence, amens metu, terrore; demens scelere, discordia, etc. 2. Insanus has a privative; vesanus, a depravative meaning. The insanus in his passion oversteps the measure and bounds of right, and gives one the impression of a guilty person; the vesanus, in his delusion, wanders from the right path, follows a false object, and gives one the impression of an unfortunate person. 3. Excors means of weak understanding in general, without the ability of reflecting and examining, in opp. to cordatus; vecors means, of a perverted understanding, without the ability of reflecting calmly, from the mind being taken up with one fixed idea. 4. Furor (fervere) denotes mental irritation, ecstasy, as raging, μανικός; delirium (ληρεῖν), a physical and childish remission of the mental faculties; rabies (ῥαβάσσειν, ἄραβος), a half-moral condition of a passionate insanity, as frantic, λύσσα. The furibundus forgets the bounds of sense, the delirus babbles nonsense, the rabidus will bite and injure when he can. 5. Cerritus and lymphatus betoken frenzy, as a demoniacal state, as possessed, cerritus or ceritus, by Ceres, lymphatus, by the nymphs; they may also be considered as derived from κόρυζα, mucus narium, and from λέμφος, mucus, as symbols of stupidity. (v. 89.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedēlīriumdēlīria
genitivedēlīriī
dēlīrī
dēlīriōrum
dativedēlīriōdēlīriīs
accusativedēlīriumdēlīria
ablativedēlīriōdēlīriīs
vocativedēlīriumdēlīria

dēlīrĭum, ii, n. deliro, no. II., in medical lang.,
I. madness, delirium, Cels. 2, 8; 3, 18 et saep.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindēlīrium

Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *leys- Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ Proto-Indo-European *lóyseh₂ Proto-Italic *loizā Latin līra Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin dēlīrō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin dēlīrium From dēlīrō (“to deviate from a straight track; to be crazy or deranged”) + -ium (nominal suffix).

Descendants
  • Catalandeler
  • Catalandeliri
  • Englishdelirium
  • Frenchdélire
  • Romaniandelirfrom French délire
  • Frenchdelirium
  • GermanDelirium
  • Italiandelirio
  • Portuguesedelírio
  • Spanishdelirio

In English words that came into English from dēlīrium

  • deliriumdēlīrium

Quick answers

What does dēlīrium mean in Latin?
dēlīrium, a noun, means “Delirium, madness, frenzy.”.
What is the genitive of dēlīrium?
The genitive singular is dēlīriī. dēlīrium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce dēlīrium?
In classical Latin, [deːˈliː.ri.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [deˈliː.ri.um].
Where does dēlīrium come from?
Proto-Indo-European *de → Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ → Proto-Italic *dē → Latin dēlīrium.