# λύσσα
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* λύττᾰ (lúttă) — Attic

### Etymology

Somewhat disputedly, thought to be equivalent to λῠ́κος m (lŭ́kos, “wolf”) +‎ -ια (-ia, abstract noun suffix) (but formed already in Proto-Hellenic, like ὄσσᾰ (óssă) and γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă), which is necessary to account for the sound shift), thus the original meaning would have been “the state of being wolfish”. Beekes maintains this etymology but, like Pokorny, considers the Greek root for “wolf” to be from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“to shine; light”) rather than *wĺ̥kʷos (“wolf”) with deformation. Compare the same root in such phrases as λευκαὶ φρένες· μαινόμεναι (leukaì phrénes; mainómenai, “raging, frenzied”, literally “glowing minds raving”) and λευκῶν πραπίδων· κακῶν φρενῶν (leukôn prapídōn; kakôn phrenôn, identical meaning, literally “of evil minds of glowing hearts”).
The less commonly held comparison to λῡ́ω (lū́ō, “to untie, let loose”) is probably to be abandoned.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lýs.sa/ → /ˈlys.sa/ → /ˈli.sa/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /lýs.sa/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈlys.sa/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈlys.sa/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈlys.sa/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈli.sa/

### Noun

λύσσᾰ • (lússă) f (genitive λύσσης); first declension
* rage, fury
* mania, raging madness
** fanaticism
* rabies (of dogs)

#### Derived terms

* ἄλυσσον n (álusson, “madwort”) (Greek)
* ἄλυσσος (álussos, “curing madness”) (Greek)
* ἀλύσσω (alússō, “be uneasy, restless”) (Greek)
* ἐκλυσσάω (eklussáō, “be raging”) (Greek)
* κῠνόλυσσος m (kŭnólussos, “hydrophobia”) (Greek), κῠνόλυσσον n (Greek)
* λυσσαίνω (lyssaíno, “rave”) (Greek)
* λυσσαλέος (lyssaléos, “raging mad”) (Greek)
* λυσσάς f (lyssás, “raging mad”) (Greek)
* λυσσάω (lyssáo, “I am raging”) (Greek)
* λυσσηδόν (lyssidón, “furiously, madly”, adverb) (Greek)
* λυσσήεις (lyssíeis, “like madness, maniac”) (Greek)
* λύσσημα n (lýssima, “fit of madness”) (Greek)
* λυσσήρης (lyssíris, “raging mad”) (Greek)
* λυσσητήρ (lyssitír, “one that is raging”) (Greek)
* λυσσητής (lyssitís, “one that is raging”) (Greek)
* λυσσητικός (lyssitikós, “driving mad”) (Greek)
* λυσσόδηκτος (lyssódiktos, “bitten by a mad dog”) (Greek)
* λυσσοδίωκτος (lyssodíoktos, “pursued by madness”) (Greek)
* λυσσομανέω (lyssomanéo, “rage, rave”) (Greek)
* λυσσομανής (lyssomanís, “raving mad”) (Greek)
* λυσσομανίᾰ f (lussomaníă, “paroxysm of madness”) (Greek)
* λυσσόω (lyssóo, “enrage, madden”) (Greek)
* λυσσώδης (lyssódis, “like one raging, frantic”) (Greek)
* λυσσῶπις f (lussôpis, “with frantic glance”) (Greek)
* προλυσσάω (prolyssáo, “advance raging”) (Greek)
* προσλυσσάω (proslyssáo, “rage against”) (Greek)
* συλλυσσάομαι (syllyssáomai, “go mad with”) (Greek)
* ὑπολυσσάω (hupolussáō, “have a kind of madness”) (Greek)

#### Related terms

Assuming the etymology given by Pokorny and Beekes:
* λεύσσω (leússō, “to see”)
* λυκόφως (lukóphōs, “twilight”)
More at λῠ́κος (lŭ́kos, “wolf”).

#### Descendants

* → English: lyssa (learned)
* → German: Lyssa (learned)
* Greek: λύσσα (lýssa)
* → Translingual: Lyssa

### References

* Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “λύσσα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 879–880
* Pokorny, Julius (1959) “leuk-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 687
* “λύσσα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press

## Greek
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek λύσσα (lússa), from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos (“wolf”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈlisa/
* Hyphenation: λύσ‧σα

### Noun

λύσσα • (lýssa) f (uncountable)
* (medicine) rabies (animal and human disease caused by species of Lyssavirus)
    Φύγε μακριά απ’ αυτό το σκυλί· έχει λύσσα και αν σε δαγκώσει, τελείωσες.Fýge makriá ap’ aftó to skylí; échei lýssa kai an se dagkósei, teleíoses.Get away from that dog; it has rabies and if it bites you, you're finished.
* (figuratively) rage, fierceness, fury
    Synonyms: οργή (orgí), τρέλα (tréla), μανία (manía), ορμητικότητα (ormitikótita), αλλοφροσύνη (allofrosýni)
    Η θάλασσα χτυπούσε με λύσσα πάνω στα βράχια.I thálassa chtypoúse me lýssa páno sta vráchia.The sea bashed the rocks with fury.
* (figuratively, followed by με (me) or για (gia)) obsession with/for, mania with/for
    Synonym: μανία (manía)
    Έχω λύσσα για τον τζόγο.Écho lýssa gia ton tzógo.I am obsessed with gambling.
* overly salty food
    Αυτά τα μπιφτέκια είναι λύσσα.Aftá ta biftékia eínai lýssa.These burgers are way too salty.
* great hunger
    Ας βρούμε κάνα εστιατόριο, έχω λύσσα.As vroúme kána estiatório, écho lýssa.Let's find a restaurant, I'm famished.

#### Derived terms

* έφαγα τα λυσσιακά μου (éfaga ta lyssiaká mou)
* λύσσαξα να (lýssaxa na)
* με έπιασε λύσσα κακιά (me épiase lýssa kakiá)
* με λύσσαξαν στο ξύλο (me lýssaxan sto xýlo)

#### Related terms

* αντιλυσσικός (antilyssikós, “anti-rabic”, adjective)
* λυσσαλέος (lyssaléos, “rabid, furious”, adjective)
* λυσσάρης (lyssáris, “rabid”, adjective)
* λυσσάρικος (lyssárikos, “rabid”, adjective)
* λυσσασμένος (lyssasménos, “rabid”, participle)
* λυσσάω (lyssáo, “to go rabid, to be furious”)
* λυσσιακά n pl (lyssiaká)
* λυσσιατρείο n (lyssiatreío, “rabies clinic”)
* λυσσίατρος m or f (lyssíatros, “rabies doctor”)
* λυσσμανάω (lyssmanáo)
* λυσσώδης (lyssódis, “frantic”, adjective)
* ψωμόλυσσα f (psomólyssa, “extreme hunger”)
* and see: λύκος m (lýkos, “wolf”)
* and see: λύχνος m (lýchnos, “lamp”)

### Verb

λύσσα • (lýssa)
* second-person singular present imperfective imperative of λυσσάω (lyssáo)
    Alternative form: λύσσαγε (lýssage)
* second-person singular simple past perfective imperative of λυσσάω (lyssáo)
    Alternative form: λύσσαξε (lýssaxe)

### Further reading

* λύσσα on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia $^{el}$