Standard Lemma guide

paraplegia

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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  • CMU ARPABET: P EH2 R AH0 P L IY1 JH IY0 AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A condition where the lower half of a patient's body is paralyzed and cannot move.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

paralysis of the lower half of the body (most often as a result of trauma)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: paralysis, palsy

History

Etymology

From New Latin paraplegia, from Ancient Greek παραπληγίη (paraplēgíē), Ionic Greek for παραπληξία (paraplēxía, “paralysis on one side”), from παραπλήσσεσθαι (paraplḗssesthai, “to be stricken on one side”), active παραπλήσσειν (paraplḗssein, “to strike on one side”), from παρά (pará, “beside”) + πλήσσειν (plḗssein, “to strike”).

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: парализа на долната част от тялото (paraliza na dolnata čast ot tjaloto) — paralysed condition
  • Catalan: paraplegia — paralysed condition
  • Chinese Mandarin: 截癱 /截瘫 (jiétān) — paralysed condition
  • Czech: paraplegie — paralysed condition
  • Dutch: dwarslaesie — paralysed condition
  • Esperanto: paraplegio — paralysed condition
  • Finnish: alaraajahalvaus — paralysed condition
  • French: paraplégie — paralysed condition
  • Galician: paraplexía — paralysed condition
  • German: Querschnittslähmung — paralysed condition
  • German: Paraplegie — paralysed condition
  • Greek: παραπληγία (parapligía) — paralysed condition
  • Icelandic: þverlömun — paralysed condition
  • Icelandic: lömun fyrir neðan mitti — paralysed condition
  • Italian: paraplegia — paralysed condition
  • Japanese: 対まひ (tsuimahi) — paralysed condition
  • Korean: 하반신 불수 (habansin bulsu) — paralysed condition
  • Latin: paraplegia — paralysed condition
  • Manx: neulheiltys — paralysed condition
  • Portuguese: paraplegia — paralysed condition
  • Russian: параплеги́я (paraplegíja) — paralysed condition
  • Serbo-Croatian: параплѐгија — paralysed condition
  • Serbo-Croatian: paraplègija — paralysed condition
  • Spanish: paraplejia — paralysed condition
  • Swedish: paraplegi — paralysed condition
  • Tagalog: parapleya — paralysed condition