TULIPOMANIA • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Tulipomania

Tulipomania n. A violent passion for the acquisition or cultivation of tulips; a word said by Beckman to have been coined by Menage. Note: In Holland, in the first half of the 17th century, the cultivation of tulips became a mania. It began about the year 1634, and, like a violent epidemic, seized upon all classes of the community, leading to disasters and misery such as the records of commerce or of bankruptcies can scarcely parallel. In 1636, tulip marts had been established in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Leyden, and various other towns, where tulip bulbs were sold and resold in the same manner as stocks are on the Stock Exchange of London.