Lipothymia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sudden loss of consciousness or fainting caused by a temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain
2. A temporary state of faintness or loss of consciousness occurs due to a brief reduction in blood flow to the brain
3. A brief episode of faintness or dizziness resulting from a transient reduction in cerebral blood flow leading to loss of consciousness

Etymology: "Lipothymia" is built from two Greek parts. The first, "lipo-", comes from "leipein", meaning "to leave" or "to fail", and the second, "-thymia", comes from "thymos", a word for spirit, soul or breath of life. Put together, the sense is that the spirit or life-force leaves the body for a moment. The Greek root "thymos" appears in other medical terms, such as "dysthymia" (a low mood), which shows how the ancient idea of the spirit or vital force was gradually narrowed into a description of feeling and consciousness. "Lipothymia" keeps the older, more physical sense: a brief departure of vitality, which is what fainting feels like from the inside.

Synonyms: fainting, syncope, collapse, blackout, loss of consciousness