apnea
- noun
- /æpˈniːə/
- Specialized
:
apnea
- He was diagnosed with chronic cough (WTC cough), GERD, and sleep apnea.
Examples
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You know, in apnea, for instance, people are holding their breath, whether or not it's conscious or unconscious, they're holding their breath.
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The baby girl (patient 3) of patient 2 was pale and flaccid at birth; apnea of prematurity developed, requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Academic text (2015) -
During free-diving, swimmers often experience apnea as they hold their breath underwater.
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In competitive free-diving, apnea is essential, as divers must control their breath to stay submerged longer.
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Practicing apnea helps free-divers improve their lung capacity and breath control for deeper dives.
Compounds
- Specialized
9
4.1
Breathing stops for short times during sleep, causing poor sleep and health risks
- Specialized
Newborn babies breathe quickly and then stop for short times
How Long
- Specialized
1
5.4
- Specialized
10
4.1
224
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
apnea = a + pnea
Although historically analyzable as a- (not) + pnea (breath), 'pnea' is a Greek combining form not a standalone English word and the medical prefix 'a-' is not obvious to an average B1 learner, so the meaning must typically be learned as a lexical item.
Etymology
Apnea comes from the Greek parts a- ('without') and pnea ('breath'), so it literally means 'without breath'. In activities like free-diving, apnea names the deliberate holding of breath, which matches the original meaning.