amok

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   in an uncontrolled, often violent frenzy, chiefly in the expression 'run amok'

   The armed attacker ran amok through the market before police stopped him.

2. 2
   adj

   wildly out of control or in chaotic disorder

   A software fault sent the automated system amok for several minutes.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Amok came into English in the early 16th century from Malay amok, referring to furious engagement in battle or a frenzy. This is the source of the expression run amok.

Borrowed in the sixteenth century through Portuguese amouco from Malay amuk, 'to attack in a furious frenzy.' Early European accounts applied the term to violent episodes in Maritime Southeast Asia. English preserved it chiefly in run amok and later broadened it to anything behaving wildly or uncontrollably.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary