Editing Cacoethes

== English ==

=== Etymology ===
Borrowed from Latin ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cacoethes#Latin cacoēthes]'', from Ancient Greek ''κακοήθης'' (“ill-disposed”), from:
* ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%82 κακός]'' (“bad”)
* ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%82#Ancient_Greek ἦθος]'' (“disposition, nature”)

=== Pronunciation ===
* IPA: /ˌkækəʊˈiːθiːz/
* Audio: [[File:Cacoethes_MorMurdoch_Pronunciation.ogg]]
* Hyphenation: ca·co·e·thes

=== Noun ===
''cacoethes'' (plural ''cacoethes'')

# Compulsion; mania; an often irresistible urge (especially toward something harmful or ill-advised).
#* ''The ''cacoethes scribendi'', the itch to write, has ruined many a peaceful life.''
#* ''He spoke of an incurable ''cacoethes'' for contradiction.''

# (medicine, obsolete) A bad quality or disposition in a disease; a malignant tumour or ulcer.
#* ''Physicians once used ''cacoethes'' for stubborn, malignant ulcers.''

==== Usage notes ====
Not to be confused with ''cacoethics'' (“bad ethics or morals; bad habits”).

==== Alternative forms ====
* ''cacoëthes''

==== Derived terms ====
* cacoethic
* cacoethical
* cacoethically

== Video Example ==
<youtube>V2AfXNJImSo</youtube>

This song functions as a modern illustration of ''cacoethes'', an irresistible and often self-destructive compulsion toward something harmful.

The repeated lines “Make me an addict” and “Can’t say no to you” emphasize the loss of restraint characteristic of a ''cacoethes''. The speaker is not merely expressing desire, but a recurring, self-aware return to what they know diminishes them (“I’m going dumber every time I answer you”). This reflects the historical sense of ''cacoethes'' as an ingrained, almost pathological inclination.

The drug metaphor (“I’m a junkie, you’re the drug,” “quick fix,” “entertainment sickness”) parallels the older medical usage of ''cacoethes'', which referred to a malignant condition resistant to cure. Likewise, the relationship described in the song intensifies despite awareness of its harm.

Rather than simple attraction, the lyrics dramatize a cultivated appetite for ruin, a compulsive surrender that aligns closely with the moral and psychological weight of ''cacoethes''.

=== In Literature ===

==== "Cacoethes Scribendi" by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. ====
The term is the central theme of the 1891 poem [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44378/cacoethes-scribendi "Cacoethes Scribendi"] by '''Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.'''

<div style="margin-left:2em; font-style:italic;">
If all the trees in all the woods were men;<br>
And each and every blade of grass a pen;<br>
If every leaf on every shrub and tree<br>
Turned to a sheet of foolscap; every sea<br>
Were changed to ink, and all earth's living tribes<br>
Had nothing else to do but act as scribes,<br>
And for ten thousand ages, day and night,<br>
The human race should write, and write, and write,<br>
Till all the pens and paper were used up,<br>
And the huge inkstand was an empty cup,<br>
Still would the scribblers clustered round its brink<br>
Call for more pens, more paper, and more ink.
</div>

== Transliteration ==
* Zhuyin (non-tonal): ㄎㄚ ㄎㄡ ㄧ ㄙ
* Katakana: カコエーシーズ
* Hangul: 캐코이시즈

== References ==

Holmes, Oliver Wendell Sr. “Cacoethes Scribendi.” 1891. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44378/cacoethes-scribendi.

PiNKII x DAEGHO. “Addict.” YouTube video. https://youtu.be/V2AfXNJImSo.