HYSTERIC

n. & adj. --n. 1 (in pl.) a a fit of hysteria. b colloq. overwhelming mirth or laughter (we were in hysterics). 2 a hysterical person. --adj. = HYSTERICAL. [L f. Gk husterikos of the womb (hustera), hysteria being thought to occur more frequently in women than in men and to be associated with the womb]