ecstatica

English

Etymology

From New Latin ecstatica, from Ancient Greek ἐκστατικός (ekstatikós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛkˈstætɪkə/

Noun

ecstatica (plural ecstaticas)

1. (obsolete or historical) A woman perceived to have a highly sensitive emotional state, or prone to quasi-mystical trances.
   • 1891, Julian Ochorowicz, Joseph Fitzgerald, Mental suggestion:

     The ecstaticas sometimes divined thoughts, but Father Surin must know beforehand what the thoughts were; else the thing did not work.

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 256:

     She was known to the T.W.I.T. as an “ecstatica,” a classification enjoying apparently somewhat more respect than a common medium.