conniption

English

WOTD – 21 January 2009

Etymology

Since 1833, from American English. Unknown origin, probably a fanciful alternation of corruption etc., or maybe related to captious.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈnɪp.ʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

conniption (plural conniptions)

1. (informal) A fit of anger or panic; conniption fit.

   Synonyms: tantrum; see also Thesaurus:tantrum

   When she came downstairs and saw what her children were eating, she had a conniption.

   • 2001, “My Plague”, in Iowa, performed by Slipknot:

     I'm in conniptions for the final act you came here for

   • 2008 October 20, Businessweek:

     […] threatened by the conniptions gripping Wall Street

2. A fit of laughing; convulsion.

   The joke was not that funny, but he went into conniptions laughing.

Translations

fit of anger or panic

• Bulgarian: истерия (bg) f (isterija)
• Czech: záchvat (cs) m
• Dutch: woedeuitbarsting
• Finnish: kohtaus (fi)
• French: crise de colère f, crise de panique f
• Galician: ataque de ansiedade f, ataque de histeria f, ataque de pánico f
• German: Anfall (de) m, hysterischer Anfall m, Wutanfall (de) m, Panikattacke (de) f
• Hungarian: dühroham (hu)
• Norwegian: fnatt n, raserianfall n
• Russian: припа́док истерии m (pripádok isterii), исте́рика (ru) f (istérika), при́ступ гнева m (prístup gneva)
• Serbo-Croatian: histerični napad m
• Spanish: ataque de rabia; rabieta
• Swedish: damp (sv), dille (sv), fnatt (sv), tuppjuck (sv), frispel

fit of laughing

• Czech: záchvat (cs) m
• Dutch: slappe lach
• Finnish: kohtaus (fi)
• French: crise de fou-rire f
• German: Lachanfall (de) m
• Hungarian: nevetőgörcs (hu)
• Norwegian: latterkrampe f, lattis (no)/lættis (no) m (slang)
• Spanish: ataque de risa

See also

• Appendix:Fanciful 19th century American coinages

Further reading

• “conniption”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “conniption”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “conniption”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.