Asphyxiations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of suffering from a lack of oxygen; a state resulting in unconsciousness or death due to obstruction of breathing; the process whereby a person or animal is deprived of airflow, leading to suffocation
2. A state marked by inadequate air supply resulting in oxygen deprivation; the fatal outcome of being unable to breathe effectively due to obstruction; an instance of suffocation that can be caused by various factors
3. The experience of being unable to breathe, often leading to loss of consciousness; the critical situation caused by restrained airflow that may result in death; an event in which vital oxygen is insufficiently supplied to the body

Etymology: "Asphyxiations" is the plural of "asphyxiation," a noun formed from "asphyxiate" plus the suffix "-ion." The verb "asphyxiate" was itself built from the Greek "asphuxia," meaning "stopping of the pulse" or "lack of pulse," formed from "a-" (without) and "sphuxis" (pulse). The Greek root points to an older medical understanding, when a stopped pulse was taken as the sign of a life ending through suffocation. The suffix "-ion" came into English through Old French "-ation," which descended from Latin "-ātiō," a noun-forming ending that turned verbs into names for actions or states. Attaching it to "asphyxiate" produced a noun for the process itself rather than the verb's action of cutting off air. The plural form simply counts separate instances of this experience or event.

Synonyms: suffocations, chokes, smotherings