What is "ecstasy"

MDMA \MDMA\ n. Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, a drug designed to have the effects of amphetamines but originally synthesized to avoid the drug laws; it is now a controlled substance. It is informally called ecstasy. It is used by some abusively and illegally without a prescription. [acronym]

Syn: methylenedioxymethamphetamine, Adam, ecstasy.

late 14c., extasie "elation," from Old French estaise "ecstasy, rapture," from Late Latin extasis, from Greek ekstasis "entrancement, astonishment, insanity; any displacement or removal from the proper place," in New Testament "a trance," from existanai "displace, put out of place," also "drive out of one's mind" (existanai phrenon), from ek "out" (see ex-) + histanai "to place, cause to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).\n

\nUsed by 17c. mystical writers for "a state of rapture that stupefied the body while the soul contemplated divine things," which probably helped the meaning shift to "exalted state of good feeling" (1610s). Slang use for the drug 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine dates from 1985. Formerly also spelled ecstasie, extacy, extasy, etc. Attempts to coin a verb to go with it include ecstasy (1620s), ecstatize (1650s), ecstasiate (1823), ecstasize (1830).

n. 1 intense pleasure. 2 A state of emotion so intense that a person is carried beyond rational thought and self-control. 3 A trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation. 4 (context obsolete English) Violent emotion or distraction of mind; excessive grief from anxiety; insanity; madness. 5 (context slang English) The drug MDMA, a synthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family. 6 (context medicine dated English) A state in which sensibility, voluntary motion, and (largely) mental power are suspended; the body is erect and inflexible; but the pulse and breathing are not affected.

1. n. a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion; "listening to sweet music in a perfect rapture"- Charles Dickens [syn: rapture, transport, exaltation, raptus]

2. a state of elated bliss [syn: rapture]

3. street names for methylenedioxymethamphetamine [syn: Adam, XTC, go, disco biscuit, cristal, X, hug drug]

Ecstasy (from Ancient Greek ἔκστασις ékstasis) is a subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of his or her awareness. In classical Greek literature it refers to removal of the mind or body "from its normal place of function".

Total involvement with an object of interest is not an ordinary experience because of being aware of other objects, thus ecstasy is an example of an altered state of consciousness characterized by diminished awareness of other objects or the total lack of the awareness of surroundings and everything around the object. The word is also used to refer to any heightened state of consciousness or intensely pleasant experience. It is also used more specifically to denote states of awareness of non-ordinary mental spaces, which may be perceived as spiritual (the latter type of ecstasy often takes the form of religious ecstasy).

Ecstasy may refer to:

• Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness
• Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria
• Ecstasy (philosophy), a term used to mean "outside itself"
• Ecstasy (drug), a colloquial term for MDMA, an empathogenic drug

Ecstasy is the eighteenth album by Lou Reed, released in 2000. It is a concept album about Reed's personal experiences with marriage and relationships and is his final rock album that is not a collaboration. The cover photography is by Reed.

Robert Christgau thought highly of the album, writing, "If his solo career produced a masterwork on the scale of whatever VU album you prefer, this de facto farewell is it." On an episode of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... featuring Lou Reed and Julian Schnabel as the guests, Schnabel recites the entirety of "Rock Minuet", citing it as one of his favorite Reed songs.

"Ecstasy" was released as the second single from ATB's album No Silence. It is characterized by its upbeat tone, crisp layering, and memorable intro. Vocals were provided by Tiff Lacey, who is also featured in the song " Marrakech." Ecstasy, one of ATB's more recent hits, is now among his best known songs. It samples Jocelyn Enriquez's song "A Little Bit of Ecstasy".

Ecstasy (, , ) is a 1933 Czech-Austrian romantic drama film directed by Gustav Machatý and starring Hedy Lamarr (then Hedy Kiesler), Aribert Mog, and Zvonimir Rogoz.

Written by František Horký, Gustav Machatý, Jacques A. Koerpel, and Robert Horký, the film is about a young woman who marries a wealthy but much older man. After abandoning her brief passionless marriage, she meets a young virile engineer who becomes her lover. Ecstasy was filmed in three language versions—German, Czech, and French.

Ecstasy was highly controversial in its time because of scenes in which Lamarr swims in the nude and runs through the countryside naked. It is also perhaps the first non- pornographic movie to portray sexual intercourse and female orgasm, although never showing more than the actors' faces. The film was wrongly celebrated as the first motion picture to include a nude scene, rather than the first to show sexual intercourse, for which it has a better claim.

Ecstasy is the second mini album by the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, released on 23 November 1987 on Lazy Records. Released in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, it was the band's final release for Lazy Records and second to feature vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher, who was recruited in April 1987 following the departure of original My Bloody Valentine vocalist David Conway. Ecstasy followed the noise pop and twee pop standards of My Bloody Valentine's earlier releases for the label, drawing influence from various artists including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and The Byrds, and the album distanced the band further from their earlier post-punk and gothic rock sound.

The album experienced several technical and financial problems during its recording sessions, including errors in the mastering process, and the band were dissatisfied with its outcome; although upon its release, Ecstasy received moderate critical acclaim and peaked at number 12 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. The album was later combined with My Bloody Valentine's preceding single, " Strawberry Wine", and reissued on the compilation album Ecstasy and Wine (1989), which was released on Lazy Records without the band's consent.

Ecstasy is a 1979 play by British playwright Mike Leigh with a six-character cast. It covers the life of four blue-collar friends living in a ratty area of London near Kilburn High Road and the drunken frustration in their lives, particularly that of the lead character Jean.

Jean is a suicidal garage attendant who sleeps with unsuitable men, like Roy, drinks heavily and has abortions. Her friend from Birmingham, Dawn, who has had three children, brings back her husband Mick, an Irish labourer, and his quiet friend, Len, to Jean's bleak Kilburn bedsitter, - 'their second act ensemble trumpets the dark night of the soul, in what is at once one of the best and gloomiest party scenes in contemporary drama.'

The play opened at the Hampstead Theatre on 26 September 1979. The production was designed by Alison Chitty, and the cast comprised Sheila Kelley as Jean, Ron Cook as Roy, Rachel Davies as Val, Julie Walters as Dawn, Stephen Rea as Mick, and Jim Broadbent as Len. For both Broadbent and Rea, this was the first of several collaborations with Leigh. A new production directed by Leigh, and starring Sian Brooke, Daniel Coonan, Claire Louise Cordwell, Allen Leech, Sinead Matthews, and Craig Parkinson opened on 10 March 2011 at the Hampstead Theatre, and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in Covent Garden on 12 April 2011.

Ecstasy is the second studio album by Avant. It includes the singles "Makin' Good Love", "Don't Say No, Just Say Yes" and "You Ain't Right". The album is Avant's biggest selling album to date with over 1.7 Million copies in the US and just over five million worldwide. The album was heavily promoted. A few months before the release Avant's son was born.

Ecstasy (or ekstasis; from the Ancient Greek ἔκστασις, "to be or stand outside oneself, a removal to elsewhere" from ek- "out," and stasis "a stand, or a standoff of forces") is a term used in Ancient Greek, Christian and Existential philosophy. The different traditions using the concept have radically different perspectives.

Ecstasy (Renee Deladier) is a fictional super villain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Ecstasy is the fourth studio album by The Ohio Players and the third released through the Westbound label. The album was produced by the band, and arranged by Walter "Junie" Morrison. The cover photo was taken by Joel Brodsky.

"Ecstasy" is a house song by singer, Jody Watley. It was written by Watley, David Morales and Terry Burrus and produced by Morales (who'd worked with Watley previously on her hit single, " I'm the One You Need"). It first appeared on the 1993 album, Intimacy.

Ecstasy is a solo album by American jazz pianist and composer Steve Kuhn recorded in 1974 and released on the ECM label.

Ecstasy is the fifth studio album by composer Deuter, released in 1979 by Kuckuck Schallplatten.

Ecstasy is a relief sculpture by Eric Gill. It depicts a male figure and a female figure, standing and embracing, in the act of copulating. It was acquired by the Tate Gallery in 1982.

Gill found creative links between sex and his Catholic spirituality: a drawing for this work was entitled Christ and the Church. The sculpture also draws inspiration from Indian temple sculptures. It may have been modelled on his sister Gladys and her husband Ernest Laughton. From Gill's diary, it seems that that he was working on the sculpture from around August 1910 and completed by February 1911. He refers to the sculpture as "'They' group 'fucking'." Correspondence between Gill and Roger Fry connected the work with two other reliefs, A Crucifix (also in the Tate) and A Roland for an Oliver (also known as Her, held by the University of Hull).

The sculpture is made from Portland stone and measures . It bears a monogram on the right edge, of an eye on a hand, a symbol used by Gill in his early carvings. It was acquired from the artist by collector Edward Perry Warren in 1912. Warren also owned a marble replica of Rodin's The Kiss that he had commissioned from the original artist. After Warren's death in 1928 and Gill's death in 1940, the sculpture was sold at Sotheby's in March 1949 by Warren's heir H. Asa Thomas. The work was called They by Gill; it only became known as Ecstasy from the Sotheby's sale in 1949. It was bought by the Tate Gallery from Mrs D Webber in 1982.

The work was accidentally damaged before it was acquired by the Tate Gallery: the top left corner is missing, including the back of the woman’s head and the man’s left wrist.