severe craving for alcohol
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Dipsomania Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
(n.)
A morbid an uncontrollable craving (often periodic) for drink, esp. for alcoholic liquors; also improperly used to denote acute and chronic alcoholism.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter. AboutA morbid an uncontrollable craving (often periodic) for drink, esp. for alcoholic liquors; also improperly used to denote acute and chronic alcoholism.
dipsomania
\dip`so*ma"ni*a\ (?), n. [nl., fr. gr. &?; thirst + &?; mania.] (med.) a morbid an uncontrollable craving (often periodic) for drink, esp. for alcoholic liquors; also improperly used to denote acute and chronic alcoholism.
Noun
1. an intense persistent desire to drink alcoholic beverages to excess
(synonym) alcoholism, potomania
(hypernym) mania, passion, cacoethes
Dipsomania Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
Dipsomania is a historical term describing a medical condition involving an uncontrollable craving for alcohol. It was used in the 19th century to describe a variety of alcohol-related problems, most of which are most commonly conceptualized today as alcoholism, but it is occasionally still used to describe a particular condition of periodic, compulsive bouts of alcohol intake. The idea of dipsomania is important for its historical role in promoting a disease theory of chronic drunkenness. The word comes from Greek δίψα thirst and μανία mania. It is still mentioned in the WHO ICD10 as an alternative description for alcohol dependence syndrome, episodic use F10.26
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