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nympholepsy

[ nim-fuh-lep-see ]

noun

, plural nym·pho·lep·sies.
  1. an ecstasy supposed by the ancients to be inspired by nymphs.
  2. a frenzy of emotion, as for something unattainable.


nympholepsy

/ ˈnɪmfəˌlɛpsɪ /

noun

  1. a state of violent emotion, esp when associated with a desire for something one cannot have
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˌnymphoˈleptic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • nym·pho·lep·tic [nim-f, uh, -, lep, -tik], adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of nympholepsy1

1765–75; formed on nympholept, on the model of epilepsy
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Word History and Origins

Origin of nympholepsy1

C18: from nympholept , on the model of epilepsy
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Example Sentences

Witchcraft has seized upon you, nympholepsy has struck you.

Through solitude this passion may be exalted into a frenzy like a nympholepsy.

De Quincey has done so in prose, for instance, and Lord Byron talks of 'The nympholepsy of a fond despair,' though he never was accused of being overridden by his Greek.

A terrible malady is she, a malady the ancients knew of and called nympholepsy—a beautiful name evocative and symbolic of its ideal aspect, "the breasts of the nymphs in the brake."

A terrible malady is she, a malady the ancients knew of and called nympholepsy—a beautiful name evocative and symbolic of its ideal aspect, "the breast of the nymph in the brake."

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