ilinx

Noun

ilinx (uncountable)

1. A form of play that creates a temporary disruption of perception, for example by inducing vertigo, dizziness, disorientation, or frenzy.
   • As illustrations he provides sports for agon, lotteries for alea, hero-worship for mimicry, and tightrope walking for ilinx.1969 -, Roscoe Conkling Brown, Bryant J. Cratty, New perspectives of man in action, page 183
   • First that the type of game he plays is Ilinx— the pursuit of vertigo— on a highly ordered or skilled level.1972, Cinema Journal - Volumes 12-13, page 28
2. The sensation or altered state of consciousness that is so created, called by sociologist Roger Caillois, the “strange excitement” of wanton destruction.
   • Many of the dances practiced by adults, the polka as well as more contemporary ones, induce a mild form of ilinx.1969, Folklore Annual of the University Folklore Association
   • Similarly, the search for vertigo (ilinx) through intoxication and wild dancing creates a fantasy world which leads into a vision of the sacred.1971, Parergon - Issues 1-13, page 54