cacoëthes

or cac·o·e·thes

[ kak-oh-ee-theez ]

/ ˌkæk oʊˈi θiz /

noun

an irresistible urge; mania.

Nearby words

Origin of cacoëthes

1555–65; < Latin < Greek kakóēthes, neuter (used as noun) of kakoḗthēs malignant, literally, of bad character; see caco-, ethos

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cacoethes

Among the rest she was seized with what we men call a cacoethes of the needle: "a raging desire" for work.
White Lies|Charles Reade
As cool as you like old Peter replied, 'Cacoethes loquendi.'
Combed Out|Fritz August Voigt
But the cacoethes scribendi possesses me, and all my leisure hours are devoted to a Suite.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
Erasmus shared with most scholars of the Renaissance the cacoethes scribendi.
Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam|Ephraim Emerton

This cacoethes scribendi is the pest of every local curiosity or public watering-place.
Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers|Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

British Dictionary definitions for cacoethes

cacoethes

/ (ˌkækəʊˈiːθiːz) /

noun

an uncontrollable urge or desire, esp for something harmful; maniaa cacoethes for smoking

Derived Formscacoethic (ˌkækəʊˈɛθɪk), adjective

Word Origin for cacoethes

C16: from Latin cacoēthes malignant disease, from Greek kakoēthēs of an evil disposition, from kakos caco- + ēthos character

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cacoethes

cacoethes

"itch for doing something," 1560s, from Latinized form of Greek kakoethes "ill-habit, wickedness, itch for doing (something)," from kakos "bad" (see caco-) + ethe- "disposition, character" (see ethos). Most famously, in Juvenal's insanabile scribendi cacoethes "incurable passion for writing."