paroxysme

== French == === Etymology === From Middle French paroxisme, paroxysme, parocisme, paroxime, from Old French peroxime (“period of worsening of a disease; bout of fever or illness”), from Late Latin paroxismus, paroxysmus (“a fit; onset of a disease; violent impulse or sadness”), from Ancient Greek πᾰροξῠσμός (păroxŭsmós, “exasperation, irritation; severe fit of a disease”), from πᾰροξῡ́νω (păroxū́nō, “to irritate, provoke”) (from παρα- (para-, prefix meaning ‘parallel to but separate from or going beyond, beside’) + ὀξῡ́νω (oxū́nō, “to provoke; to sharpen”) (from ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”))) + -μός (-mós, suffix forming abstract nouns). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /pa.ʁɔk.sism/ ~ /pa.ʁɔk.sizm/ === Noun === paroxysme m (plural paroxysmes) (medicine) paroxysm (sudden recurrence of a disease) (figurative) height, peak Synonym: zénith === Further reading === “paroxysme”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012