5 ms·
I am surprised there is no mention of the word "histrionic" which is completely out-of-date and insulting to women.
by kensai 4y ago
I am surprised there is no mention of the word "histrionic" which is completely out-of-date and insulting to women.
- FeteCommuniste 4y agoHow so? "Histrionic" has no relation to "hysterical."
- astrange 4y agoIf two words aren't related it can still be a problem if people think they are, and language evolution will start treating them as if they are (backformation).
- Veen 4y agoThat’s true, but few people know the origins of hysterical, let alone histrionic. You could just as well argue that the average speaker doesn’t know that hysterical was once a gendered, misogynist term and that therefore it’s no longer problematic.
- Veen 4y ago'Histrionic' originates in the Latin 'histrionica,' which refers to actors and acting, supposedly because actors first came from the Greek colony of Histria on the Black Sea. I'm not sure why any of that is insulting to women.
- matheusmoreira 4y agoHe probably means hysterical, that which is plagued by hysteria, excessive emotion. The word originates from hystera, greek for uterus. No longer in clinical use but certainly in popular usage despite its unfortunate history.
- xmddmx 4y agoThis article was written in 2015, not 1960 is why. Academic psychological research has been making great attempts to remove biased / inaccurate terms from the lexicon, and I encourage you to find a cite from the last 10 years that uses this term, other than in a historical sense. (Not saying it's impossible, just unlikely)