dipsomaniac

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person with an uncontrollable or habitual craving for alcohol; an old-fashioned term

   The novel portrays the dipsomaniac with pity rather than contempt.

Formed in the nineteenth century from Greek dipsa, “thirst,” and -maniac, referring to a person affected by mania. It originated as a medical label for recurrent compulsive drinking and is now dated and potentially stigmatizing.

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