a·mok / əˈmək; əˈmäk/ (also a·muck) • adv. (in phrase run amok) behave uncontrollably and disruptively: stone-throwing anarchists running amok | fig. her feelings seemed to be running amok. ORIGIN: mid 17th cent.: via Portuguese amouco, from Malay amok ‘rushing in a frenzy.’ Early use was as a noun denoting a Malay in a homicidal frenzy; the adverb use dates from the late 17th cent.

amok in the phrase run amok, behave uncontrollably and disruptively. The word comes (in the mid 17th century) from Portuguese amouco, from Malay amok ‘rushing in a frenzy’. Early use was as a noun denoting a Malay in a homicidal frenzy; the adverb use dates from the late 17th century.