Apoplexic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to or exhibiting symptoms of a sudden loss of consciousness or paralysis caused by a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage
2. Characterizing a state associated with a sudden blockage or rupture in the brain leading to unconsciousness or paralysis
3. Describing conditions or reactions linked to a sudden medical event involving bleeding or obstruction in the brain

Etymology: "Apoplexic" is the adjective form of "apoplexy," a word that comes from Greek "apoplēxia," literally "a striking down" or "a being struck," formed from "apo" (away, off) and "plēssein" (to strike). In classical and medieval medicine, apoplexy described any sudden collapse, the sort of seizure that fells a person without warning, and the notion of being struck down by an unseen force carried over into the language of the body. The word reached English in the late Middle Ages, when it was used for sudden loss of consciousness and paralysis. The modern sense of "stroke" as a cerebrovascular event was not part of the original meaning. Physicians over the centuries used "apoplexy" for a range of sudden attacks, and the narrowing to a brain haemorrhage or blockage came only as anatomy and pathology became more precise. "Apoplexic," an adjective meaning caused by or relating to such an attack, follows the same pattern as other English adjectives built on medical nouns, and it is comparatively rare in modern use, where "apoplectic" (originally meaning suffering from apoplexy) has largely taken over the territory of extreme rage.