mad
part of speech
adjective (mad, madder, maddest)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal, especially USA) Angry. tree →
2) (UK and elsewhere, informal) Very silly or foolish; crazy. tree →
3) mad about/on: liking something very much. tree →
4) (old or offensive) Mentally ill; avoid this use about real people. tree →
5) (slang) Very, or very great: "mad skills". tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah it means driven out of one's wits by terrible suffering, as a curse that falls on those who break the covenant. The prophets and Ecclesiastes also use it for wild, senseless behaviour, as a "mad flight" or mad laughter, and Hosea says the people scorn the prophet as mad. Interpretation: Tradition reads such curses as a warning of what happens when people turn away from God's commands. Hosea's verse is read as showing how the people mocked true prophets. In the primary lessons: In everyday talk: "Mum was mad at me" (angry, mostly USA), "you're mad to swim in winter" (crazy, UK). Phrases: mad at, mad about, go mad, drive someone mad, like mad, mad as a hatter.
examples
- so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (Torah DEU.28.34, JPS 1917) tree →
- Madmenah is in mad flight; the inhabitants of Gebim flee to cover. (Prophets ISA.10.31, JPS 1917) tree →
- The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad! (Prophets HOS.9.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- I said of laughter: 'It is mad'; and of mirth: 'What doth it accomplish?' (Writings ECC.2.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- Mum was mad at me for being late. tree →
- You're mad to go swimming in this cold! tree →
- She's mad about horses. tree →
- The noise is driving me mad. tree →
- We ran like mad to catch the bus. tree →
- The crowd went mad when we scored. tree →
- (slang) He's got mad skills on the skateboard. tree →
- "Den Brer Possum git mighty mad. tree →
note
Comparison: madder, maddest (double d). "Mad" meaning angry is more American; in the UK people more often mean "crazy". Calling a real person "mad" for illness is unkind. "Like mad" means very fast or very hard.
In the corpora
- so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
- Madmenah is in mad flight; the inhabitants of Gebim flee to cover.
- That frustrateth the tokens of the imposters, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
- The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!
- Mine enemies taunt me all the day; they that are mad against me do curse by me.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mad» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.