REALizing rage: ‘there be monsters…’; actually they’re lyssants

If, as I proclaim, rabidity is a natural part of human behavior that emerges in several situations, then we need a single term to refer to a person or animal affected in this way. I introduce a new word, lyssant, to refer to a person or animal exhibiting rabid behavior. The word is derived from the Greek word, lyssa, which refers to the scientific name for the rabies virus, certain kinds of madness, and is the goddess (daimona, i.e. spirit or demon) of rage, fury, and rabies (ref). The formal name for the rabies virus is Lyssavirus. The Roman equivalent of the goddess Lyssa was variously…