hysteria
hys.te.ria or hys.ter.i.cal \his-'ter-e--*, -'tir-\ \-'ter-ik\ \-'ter-i-k*l\ \-i-k(*-)le-\ n [NL, fr. E hysteric, adj., fr. L hystericus of the womb, fr. Gk ]hysterikos, fr. hystera womb; fr. the former notion that hysteric women were suffering from disturbances of the womb 1: a psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and disturbances of th e psychic, sensory, vasomotor, and visceral functions 2: unmanageable fear or emotional excess - hys.ter.ic n