Hys-tē'ri-ā, n.

n. [Gr. τὰ ὑστερικά (sc. πάθη), N. Lat. hysteria, Fr. hystérie. See supra.] (Med.) A species of neurosis, or nervous affection, generally occurring in paroxysms, the principal characteristics of which consist in alternate fits of laughing and crying, with a sensation as if a ball set out from the uterus and proceeded through the stomach, chest, and neck, producing a sense of strangulation. It is sometimes attended with convulsions, and is variable as to the time of attacking a person.

Dunglison.