“run amok”是一個動詞短語，記錄於1670年代，源自馬來語（南島語系）的 amuk，意爲“猛烈攻擊”。早期該詞被用作名詞或形容詞，意爲“狂熱的馬來人”，最初以葡萄牙語形式 amouco 或 amuco 出現。
There are some of them [Javanese] who ... go out into the streets, and kill as many persons as they meet. ... These are called Amuco. ["The Book of Duarte Barbosa: An Account of the Countries Bordering on the Indian Ocean and Their Inhabitants," c. 1516, English translation]
“有些爪哇人會走到街上，殺死他們遇到的所有人……這些人被稱爲 Amuco。”——《杜阿爾特·巴爾博薩之書：關於印度洋沿岸國家及其居民的描述》，約1516年，英文翻譯
與 amuck 相比較。
