Fact 48: what is the correct name for a fear of heights?
Fact 48: what is the correct name for a fear of heights?
The correct name for a fear of heights is acrophobia.
It is called acrophobia because of the Greek word for heights is acron (like acrobat) and the Greek word for fear (or horror) is phobos, because in Greek mythology Phobos is one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite.
Therefore the Greeks put the to words together and created the word Acrophobia. So if you are ever very high-up and scared you can think to yourself the word for this is acrophobia, or you can just freeze, like me and scream, the choice is yours!
Vertigo is a condition of dizziness that can sometimes be linked to Acrophobia
but they are not the same thing.
