catalepsy
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈkætəˌlɛpsi/
- Specialized
:
catalepsia
- In a rare case, her catalepsy lasted for several hours, leaving her motionless and unaware of her surroundings.
Examples
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During the exam, she suddenly fell into catalepsy, unresponsive to her classmates' attempts to wake her.
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How long can one live with catalepsy, Doctor?
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Was it I who mentioned catalepsy yesterday?
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Under what conditions did he enter catalepsy?
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However, this is severe catalepsy.
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Catalepsy, a condition that occurs in hypnosis and in schizophrenia, entails a "waxy rigidity of the muscles so that the patient tends to remain in any position in which he is placed," according to Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary.
Academic text (1999) -
The patient's catalepsy made it difficult for the doctor to assess his neurological function.
Synonyms
60
7.1
A state when a person is not fully aware and cannot control their actions
3
9.9
A person who does not move or respond and becomes very stiff, often during a serious mental illness
How Unresponsive
Surface Forms
Morphology
catalepsy = cata + lepsy
Although analyzable into Greek combining elements (cata- + -lepsy), these parts are not productive or recognizable to an average B1 learner, so the meaning cannot be derived from familiar English bases.
Etymology
Catalepsy comes from Greek parts kata- 'down' and -lepsy 'seizure', the same -lepsy in epilepsy. So a helpful way to remember catalepsy is to think of a 'seizure' that takes the body 'down' and holds it very still.