Standard Lemma guide

catalepsy

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈkætəˌlɛpsi/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A severe bodily condition, described in psychiatric pathology, marked by sudden rigidity, fixation of posture, and loss of contact with environmental conditions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a trancelike state with loss of voluntary motion and failure to react to stimuli

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hypersomnia

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κατάληψις (katálēpsis, “act of seizing”), from καταλαμβάνω (katalambánō, “to seize”), from κατά (katá, “against”) + λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”). By surface analysis, cata- + -lepsy.

Across languages

Translations

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَخَشُّب (taḵaššub) — catalepsy
  • Armenian: կատալեպսիա (katalepsia) — catalepsy
  • Basque: katalepsia — catalepsy
  • Belarusian: каталепсія (kataljepsija) — catalepsy
  • Bulgarian: вцепеняване (vcepenjavane) — catalepsy
  • Bulgarian: каталепсия (katalepsija) — catalepsy
  • Catalan: catalèpsia — catalepsy
  • Czech: katalepsie — catalepsy
  • Danish: katalepsi — catalepsy
  • Dutch: catalepsie — catalepsy
  • Dutch: katalepsie — catalepsy
  • Esperanto: katalepsio — catalepsy
  • Estonian: katalepsia — catalepsy
  • Finnish: katalepsia — catalepsy
  • French: catalepsie — catalepsy
  • Galician: catalepsia — catalepsy
  • German: Katalepsie — catalepsy
  • German: Starrsucht — catalepsy
  • Greek: καταληψία (katalipsía) — catalepsy
  • Ido: katalepsio — catalepsy
  • Indonesian: katalepsi — catalepsy
  • Irish: catailéipse — catalepsy
  • Italian: catalessi — catalepsy
  • Italian: catalessia — catalepsy
  • Japanese: カタレプシー (katarepushī) — catalepsy
  • Korean: 강경증 (ganggyeongjeung) — catalepsy
  • Latin: catalepsis — catalepsy
  • Latvian: katalepsija — catalepsy
  • Lithuanian: katalepsija — catalepsy
  • Persian: چوبوارگی (čub-vâregi) — catalepsy
  • Polish: katalepsja — catalepsy
  • Portuguese: catalepsia — catalepsy
  • Romanian: catalepsie — catalepsy
  • Russian: каталепси́я (katalepsíja) — catalepsy
  • Serbo-Croatian: каталѐпсија — catalepsy
  • Serbo-Croatian: katalèpsija — catalepsy
  • Sicilian: catalessi — catalepsy
  • Sicilian: catalissìa — catalepsy
  • Slovak: katalepsia — catalepsy
  • Slovene: katalepsija — catalepsy
  • Lower Sorbian: katalepsija — catalepsy
  • Upper Sorbian: katalepsija — catalepsy
  • Spanish: catalepsia — catalepsy
  • Swedish: katalepsi — catalepsy
  • Ukrainian: каталепсія (katalepsija) — catalepsy
  • Uzbek: каталепсия (katalepsiya) — catalepsy
  • Uzbek: katalepsiya — catalepsy
  • Vietnamese: chứng bắt thế — catalepsy