The Spanish word 'desquicio' (meaning 'unhinged state') has an interesting journey from Late Latin. It starts with the Late Latin word 'excrepitiare' meaning 'to crack or split'. This evolved into Old Spanish 'rescrieço' meaning 'crack or opening', which then became Spanish 'resquicio' (gap, opening). From 'resquicio' came the related word 'quicio' meaning 'hinge or pivot'.

The modern word 'desquicio' was formed by combining the prefix 'des-' (indicating reversal or negation) with 'quicio' to form the verb 'desquiciar' (to unhinge), and finally the noun 'desquicio' (unhinged state). This metaphorical extension from physical unhinging to a mental or emotional state is similar to how we use 'unhinged' in English to describe someone who has lost their mental stability.

Some related Spanish words that might be easier to remember include 'quicio' (hinge/pivot) and 'resquicio' (gap/opening). When you see a door that's properly hung on its hinges, that's 'quicio'. A small crack or gap you might see between a door and its frame would be a 'resquicio'. These physical meanings help make sense of the more abstract 'desquicio'.

While there aren't direct English cognates from the same Latin root 'excrepitiare', English speakers can relate to the metaphorical use of 'hinge' terminology to describe mental states. Just as we say someone is 'unhinged' in English to mean they're mentally unstable, Spanish uses 'desquicio' in a similar way. This parallel metaphor can help English speakers remember the meaning of 'desquicio'.