This is an entry in the Saturday series of Timeless & Timely called âOff the Clock,â for paying subscribers. This is where we focus on words, a quirk of history or literature, or something just plain fun.

The mind, where we store our memories, thoughts, and feelings, is a uniquely human thing.
A bit of trivia: George Romero, who pioneered the modern zombie film in 1968, complained in 2010 that heâd ânever had a zombie eat a brain, but itâs become this landmark thing.â The trope was introduced in 1985 by Dan OâBannonâs Return of the Living Dead, in which a zombie woman explains that eating brains relieves the âpain of being dead.â
Since the brain has high levels of serotonin, it could be the chemical salve the zombie needs.
Our brains are what help us make sense of the world. In 1918, Albert Einstein explained how we mold our minds and express our thoughts and perceptions:Â
âMan tries to make for himself in the fashion that suits him best a simplified and intelligible picture of the world; he then tries to some extent to substitute this cosmos of his for the world of experience, and thus to overcome it. This is what the painter, the poet, the speculative philosopher, and the natural scientist do.â
Along the way, weâve developed more understanding of the human mind, and therefore have developed a vocabulary to describe it and the various afflictions and affectations that accompany having one.
Here are ten words related to the mind and the history behind them.
Addlepate
A person whose mind is muddled; a stupid or contemptible person. From Old English addle, urine, liquid dung, mire, and Middle English pate, head, skull.
Berserk
Frenzied, madly violent; esp. to go berserk. From berserker, a Norse warrior of great courage who fights with ferocity and rage; from Icelandic berserkr, probably equivalent to bear-sark, bear-coat. Samuel Ădmannâs Attempt to Explain the Berserk Raging of Ancient Nordic Warriors (1784) claims berserkers ate the mushroom Amanita muscaria to produce their rages.
Brain fog
An impediment to thinking clearly; an inability to concentrate or remember (1853).
Delire
To go astray from reason; to wander in mind, to be delirious or mad, to rave. From Latin dÄlÄ«rÄre, out of oneâs wits; originally, to go out of the furrow; from de-, off, away, and lÄ«ra, ridge, furrow, in plowing; compare French dĂ©lirer, âto dote, rave, do things against reason.ââRandle Cotgrave, Dict. of the French and English Tongues
Ecstasy
A state of being beyond reason and self-control. From Greek áŒÎșÏÏαÏÎčÏ, insanity, bewilderment; the meaning was later applied to the soulâs withdrawal from the body, or a mystic or prophetic trance (applied vaguely by ancient writers to all morbid states characterized by unconsciousness, such as swoon, trance, catalepsy, etc.). Also Greek áŒÎŸÎčÏÏÎŹÎœÎ±Îč, to put out of place, áŒÎŸÎčÏÏÎŹÎœÎ±Îč ÏÏÎ”Îœáż¶Îœ, to drive a person out of his wits.
Mind
âA mysterious form of matter secreted by the brain. Its chief activity consists in the endeavor to ascertain its own nature, the futility of the attempt being due to the fact that it has nothing but itself to know itself with.ââAmbrose Bierce, The Devilâs Dictionary
Sad
A feeling of sorrow or regret. From the same Indo-European base as Latin sat, satis, enough, satur, satisfied, full, Early Irish sĂĄith, sufficiency. In English, âhaving had oneâs fill, satisfiedâ is now often expressed by words that are derived from the Latin satis. Sad was perhaps attested early as a surname (sense uncertain): Henricus Sadde (1222), Ralph Sad (1273).
Shame
A painful emotion arising from the awareness of something dishonoring, ridiculous, or indecorous in oneâs conduct. Possibly derived from pre-Germanic skem-, variant of kem-, to cover (covering oneself being the natural expression of shame).
Tantrum
An outburst or display of petulance or ill-temper; a fit of passion. Origin uncertain; first use (tanterum), 1714.
Verklempt
Overwhelmed with emotion. From Yiddish farklemt, grieving; past participle of farkÂlemen, to grip; from Old High German firklemmen, to press, squeeze; whence Old English clam, clom, bond, fetter.
Words help us make sense of the world around us. They give a common language to our common experiences.
As we try to make sense of the metaphysical, perhaps we ought to keep in mind this filler item from Punch in 1855:
âWhat is mind? No matter.
What is matter? Never mind.â
Thanks, and Iâll see you on the internet.
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