| climacteric | <plant biology> A particular stage of fruit ripening, characterised by a surge of respiratory activity and usually coinciding with full ripeness and flavour in the fruit. Its appearance is hastened by ethylene at low concentrations. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| climacteric psychosis | An obsolete term for involutional psychosis associated with the climacteric. (05 Mar 2000) |
| climacteric syndrome | <syndrome> Recurring symptoms experienced by some women during the climacteric period; they include hot flashes, chills, headache, irritability, and depression. Synonym: climacteric syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
| criminal insanity | In forensic psychiatry, a term that describes the degree of mental competence and that is defined by such currently applicable legal precedents as the American Law Institute rule, Durham rule, M'Naghten rule, and the New Hampshire rule. (05 Mar 2000) |
| insanity | 1. The state of being insane; unsoundness or derangement of mind; madness; lunacy. "All power of fancy overreason is a degree of insanity." (Johnson) "Without grace The heart's insanity admits no cure." (Cowper) 2. Such a mental condition, as, either from the existence of delusions, or from incapacity to distinguish between right and wrong, with regard to any matter under action, does away with individual responsibility. Synonym: Insanity, Lunacy, Madness, Derangement, Aliention, Aberration, Mania, Delirium, Frenzy, Monomania, Dementia. Insanity is the generic term for all such diseases; lunacy has now an equal extent of meaning, though once used to denote periodical insanity; madness has the same extent, though originally referring to the rage created by the disease; derangement, alienation, are popular terms for insanity; delirium, mania, and frenzy denote excited states of the disease; dementia denotes the loss of mental power by this means; monomania is insanity upon a single subject. Origin: L. Insanitas unsoundness; cf. Insania insanity, F. Insanite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| insanity defense | A legal concept that a person cannot be convicted of a crime if he lacked criminal responsibility by reason of insanity, which term is defined as a matter of law. (12 Dec 1998) |