cacoëthes

[ kak-oh-ee-theez ]

/ ˌkæk oʊˈi θiz /

an irresistible urge; mania.

Origin of cacoëthes

1555–65; < Latin < Greek kakóēthes, neuter (used as noun) of kakoḗthēs malignant, literally, of bad character; see caco-, ethos

Among the rest she was seized with what we men call a cacoethes of the needle: "a raging desire" for work.

White Lies |Charles Reade
As cool as you like old Peter replied, 'Cacoethes loquendi.'

Combed Out |Fritz August Voigt
But the cacoethes scribendi possesses me, and all my leisure hours are devoted to a Suite.

The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky |Modeste Tchaikovsky
Erasmus shared with most scholars of the Renaissance the cacoethes scribendi.

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam |Ephraim Emerton

This cacoethes scribendi is the pest of every local curiosity or public watering-place.

Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers |Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

cacoethes

/ (ˌkækəʊˈiːθiːz) /

an uncontrollable urge or desire, esp for something harmful; mania a cacoethes for smoking

cacoethic (ˌkækəʊˈɛθɪk), adjective

C16: from Latin cacoēthes malignant disease, from Greek kakoēthēs of an evil disposition, from kakos caco- + ēthos character