Main Entry: de·lir·i·um

Pronunciation: \di-ˈlir-ē-əm\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin, from delirare to be crazy, literally, to leave the furrow (in plowing), from de- + lira furrow — more at learn

Date: circa 1563

1 : an acute mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations
2 : frenzied excitement <he would stride about his room in a delirium of joy — Thomas Wolfe>