" frenetic "

[Adjective]  | "fre*net*ic" | \ fri-ˈne-tik \

1: marked by fast and energetic, disordered, or anxiety-driven activity : frenzied, frantic

Origin: circa 1529 ;

 Middle English frenetik, frentik, frantike "temporarily deranged, delirious," borrowed from Anglo-French frenetic, frenetique, borrowed from Latin phrenēticus "suffering from madness," borrowed from Greek phrenētikós, late variant of phrenītikós, from phrenîtis "inflammation of the brain, delirium, insanity" (from phren-, phrḗn "midriff, seat of the passions, mind, wit" —of uncertain origin— + -ītis {see: |-itis|-itis}) + -ikos {see: |-ic:1|-ic:1};

  * Note : The variants frentik and frantike suggest that frenetic was originally stressed on the first syllable; compare {frantic|frantic}, {frenzy|frenzy:1}. — It has been assumed since antiquity that Greek phrḗn originally referred to a body part, but the nature of that part has never been completely clarified. Of the instances of the word in the Iliad and Odyssey (usually in the plural phrénes) that do not unambiguously refer to mental faculties, the consensus has been since the Homeric scholiasts that the word refers to the midriff and more specifically to the diaphragm. But occurrences in the Iliad such as the following passage (XVI, 503-04) would appear to indicate otherwise: "ho dè làx en stḗthesi baínōn / ek chroòs hélke dóru, protì dè phrénes autôi héponto" ("… and Patroklos stepping heel braced to chest dragged / the spear out of his [the Lycian hero Sarpedon's] body, and the midriff came away with it"—Richmond Lattimore translation). The phrénes that come out with the spear cannot reasonably refer to the entire midsection of Sarpedon's torso, nor does it see:m likely that the diaphragm—mostly a thin sheet of tissue between the lungs and abdominal organs—would be pulled out either. (For detailed discussion of Greek usage see: S. Ireland and F. L. D. Steel, "Greek φρένες as an anatomical Organ in the Works of Homer," Glotta, 53. Band, Heft 3/4 [1975], pp. 183-95.) Though ablaut variants of phrḗn have a rich derivational history in Greek, the word has no sure Indo-European etymology. A connection with Old Icelandic grunr "suspicion," gruna, grunda "to suspect" (presumed Indo-European *gwhren-?, with no other Germanic congeners) is doubtful at best. The formation of phrḗn is paralleled by several other body part words, as adḗn "gland" (see: {adeno-|adeno-}), auchḗn "neck, throat," splḗn "spleen" (see: {spleen|spleen}).;

[Adjective]  | "frenetic"