‘Even those who never believed that the lunacies of the seventies and early eighties had been entirely eradicated - evidence to the contrary has been accumulating for several years - did not predict the recent chain reaction of violence.’.

‘Writing from the perspective of an intelligent though lonely and bewildered child, he uses incisive humour to expose the lunacies, vagaries and hypocrisies of traditional and alternative belief systems.’.‘As with the fool in King Lear, there is wisdom in his lunacy.’.‘That laugh, that insane laugh, that maniacal smirk as the madwoman's yellow eyes glinted with lunacy.’.‘Or maybe he would prefer something along the lines of suicidal confessions of a mind bordering on death and raving lunacy.’.‘He never exhibited any symptoms of lunacy that I could detect.’.

‘What must have contributed to their sudden lunacy?’.

‘The sanest men have certain moments of unexplained lunacy.’.

‘Yes, I was on the verge of lunacy, but it was only temporary.’.

‘Indeed, due to her ellipsis, instead of remarking on Lisa's masochistic lunacy, we see her faith justified, because this is her proof of her love.’.

‘She rises like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of her lunacy to become the first woman psychoanalyst in Switzerland.’.

‘For one whose obsession has been certifiable by the commissioners of lunacy, here surely instead was proof of pure sanity.’.

‘If by this point you are not already delirious, fear not, even more jolly japes and lunacy are to follow.’.

‘I prize my mental instability and nurture the lunacy which manifests itself within my cranium.’.

‘This goes beyond mere bullying and descends into paranoid - and hypocritical - lunacy.’.

‘It does not supply the answer in the situation of an infant, a person under lunacy or overseas.’.‘Either he wanted to make me delirious with jealousy over her vile decadence or simply get my certified opinion concerning her degree of lunacy.’.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: 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. ' 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 forms 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. Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'light, brightness.' Lunatic soup (1918) was slang for 'alcoholic drink' or several different alcoholic drinks drunk together. 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.Įarlier it was a term for a type of hairstyle worn over the forehead (1877). Compare also New Testament Greek selēniazomai 'be epileptic,' from selēnē 'moon.' Lunatic fringe (1913) was popularized and apparently coined by U.S. 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).Ĭompare Old English monseoc 'lunatic,' literally 'moon-sick ' Middle High German lune 'humor, temper, mood, whim, fancy' (German Laune), from Latin luna.

Lunacy synonyms