Anesthetical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to the use of substances or methods that cause loss of feeling or awareness in a part or the whole body
2. Connected with the production of insensitivity to pain or sensation through medical agents
3. Having qualities related to inducing numbness or lack of physical sensation

Etymology: The adjective "anesthetical" is simply a longer form of "anesthetic," with the extra "-al" suffix tacked on, a pattern common in English adjectives such as "medical" beside "medic." Both forms trace back to Ancient Greek, where "anaisthētos" meant "insensible," built from "an-," meaning "un-" or "not," and "aisthētikos," meaning "perceptible," which comes from the verb "aisthanesthai," to perceive through the senses. The English word took its shape from a Latinized version of the Greek, combining the negative prefix "an-" with the existing English word "esthetic," the "perceptible" side of the pair. The result was a term for loss of feeling, the sense it still carries when it describes something that numbs or deadens sensation.

Synonyms: anesthetic, pain-relieving