When was the word Coulrophobia first used?
1998
The first known use of coulrophobia was in 1998.
What is the Latin word for the fear of clowns?
coulrophobia (n.)
Is Coulrophobia in the Oxford English Dictionary?
The most unusual entry from among the nearly 600 that were added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in March of this year was coulrophobia, defined in the dictionary as “Extreme or irrational fear of clowns”.
When did the fear of clowns start?
David Carlyon, author, playwright and a former clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the 1970s, argues that the fear of clowns — known officially as coulrophobia — is a relatively new phenomenon, born from the counter-culture 1960s and emerging as a popular force in the 1980s.
What is it called when you are afraid of bridges?
By Cari Nierenberg. Crossing that bridge when you come to it is terrifying when you have a fear of bridges. Known as gephyrophobia (pronounced jeff-i-ro-fo-bia), people with an intense fear of driving over a bridge — or for some, the mere thought or anticipation of it — brings on a panic attack.
What does Cynophobia mean?
the fear of dogs
Cynophobia is the fear of dogs. Like all specific phobias, cynophobia is intense, persistent, and irrational. According to a recent diagnostic manual, between 7% and 9% of any community may suffer from a specific phobia.
What is the most common phobia in the world?
Arachnophobia – Arachnophobia is possibly the most well-known of all phobias. It is the fear of spiders, or arachnids. Estimates put arachnophobia at affecting roughly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men.
What is coulrophobia and what causes fear of clowns?
Coulrophobia is the irrational fear of clowns. People who experience this mental disorder will have a very difficult time seeing depictions of clowns in the media or even thinking of them. Doing so will give them extreme amounts of anxiety that may even cause them to experience panic attacks.
Why do people fear clowns?
But a specific fear of clowns either comes because you had a traumatic event in childhood around clowns, a family member or somebody close to you kind of has taught you that clowns are scary, or you had an anxiety attack when you were around clowns and paired them together.
What is the fear of clowns called?
Coulrophobia has been coined as an informal term for a severe fear of clowns. Officially, it falls into the category of a specific phobia if it is persistent and interferes with normal functioning. Many people experience a discomfort with clowns that isn’t a true phobia.