cacoëthes

or cac·o·e·thes

[kak-oh-ee-theez]

noun

an irresistible urge; mania.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for cacoethes

Historical Examples of cacoethes

I do not believe that there are any cases of the cacoethes subscribendi.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 101, March, 1866
Various
Erasmus shared with most scholars of the Renaissance the cacoethes scribendi.
Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam
Ephraim Emerton
As cool as you like old Peter replied, 'Cacoethes loquendi.'
Combed Out
Fritz August Voigt
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
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

British Dictionary definitions for cacoethes

cacoethes

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

"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."