Catalepsy
/ˈkætəˌlɛpsi/noun
A medical state marked by muscle rigidity and reduced responsiveness, sometimes with a fixed posture.
Did you know?The term comes from Greek roots meaning to seize or overwhelm, and in older medical writing catalepsy was often described so eerily that it blurred the line between illness, trance, and death.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
katálēpsis (κατάληψις)
“a seizing, grasping, or taking hold of”
Late Greek / Medical Greek
Greek
katalepsía (καταληψία)
“a condition of being seized or held fast”
Late Latin
Latin
catalepsia
“a medical seizure-like rigidity or trance state”
16th Century
English
catalepsie
“a disease or trance-like state in which the body becomes rigid and unresponsive”
Modern English
English
catalepsy
“a state of muscular rigidity and diminished responsiveness”
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