Translation
to be delirious, to rave; to talk wildly
Word origin
From Latin delirare, to go out of the furrow: de ('away from') plus lira ('a furrow'). The picture is a ploughman whose line has wandered, and it is one of the best metaphors any language has for losing the thread.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- delirare
- English cognates
- delirium, delirious
Examples
.
The sick boy was delirious because of a high fever.
.
He raved the whole night and did not recognise us.
; , .
Do not talk nonsense; tell me what really happened.
A false seam worth naming. looks like it starts with the prefix -, leaving a root lir-. It does not, because there is no liri in Esperanto and - is not a prefix that works that way in the first place - is the preposition meaning of or from, and Esperanto does not use it to build verbs. is a single unanalysable root, borrowed whole from Latin, and the only place the is genuinely a prefix is two thousand years upstream in e.
Two registers. Medically it is what a person with a high fever does: is . Conversationally it is the accusation you throw at somebody talking rubbish, exactly as English uses you are raving. The noun is deliro, and delira describes both the speech and the state.
Where this fits
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deliri: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "deliri" (to be delirious, to rave; to talk wildly): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 47.