Where did the term run amok come from?
Amok, or running amok, is derived from the Malay word mengamok, which means to make a furious and desperate charge. Captain Cook is credited with making the first outside observations and recordings of amok in the Malay tribesmen in 1770 during his around-the-world voyage.
How do you use run amok in a sentence?
Amok sentence example The children were running amok when their teacher stepped away from the classroom. Police officers from the neighboring city were called in to restore order after rioters ran amok in the streets.
What is an amok situation?
Amok: A syndrome first reported in the Malay people, usually male, consisting of a period of brooding followed by a sudden outburst of indiscriminate murderous frenzy, sometimes provoked by an insult, jealousy or sense of desperation.
What is amok psychology?
amok (amuck) n. a culture-bound syndrome observed among males in Malaysia, the Philippines, and other parts of southeast Asia. The individual experiences a period of social withdrawal and apathy, before making a violent, unprovoked attack on nearby individuals.
Why do people run amok?
Amok, the rarer form, is believed to stem from rage, insult, or a vendetta against a person, society, or object for a wide variety of reasons. Amok has been more closely associated with psychosis, personality disorders, bipolar disorder, and delusions.
Who says amok amok amok?
51. “Winifred Sanderson: Sisters, All Hallow’s Eve has become a night of frolic, where children wear costumes and run amok! Sarah Sanderson: Amok! amok, amok, amok.”
What is the idiomatic expression of to run amok?
1. To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be crazy or chaotic. We tried to have some organized games for the kids, but as soon as they all got here they started running amok.
Is it run amuck or run amok?
While both amok and amuck have a common origin from the Malay languange, amuck has fallend out of style. Today, amok is the more acceptable spelling.
What ran amok?
Behave in a frenzied, out-of-control, or unrestrained manner. For example, I was afraid that if I left the toddler alone she would run amok and have a hard time calming down, or The weeds are running riot in the lawn, or The children were running wild in the playground.
Is amok a disorder?
The syndrome of “Amok” is found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR). The phrase is often used in a less serious manner when describing something that is wildly out of control or causing a frenzy (e.g., a dog tearing up the living room furniture might be termed as “running amok”).
What is the meaning of running amuck?
1 : in a violently raging, wild, or uncontrolled manner —used in the phrase run amok rioters running amok in the streetsConditions had allowed extremism to run amok. 2 : in a murderously frenzied state. amok. adjective.
