Narcosis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /nɑɹˈkoʊ.sɪs/

Definitions

1. A state of unconsciousness or stupor caused by drugs or by insufficient oxygen in the body
2. A condition where a person is rendered insensible or unconscious through chemical substances or oxygen deprivation
3. An induced or accidental loss of awareness resulting from narcotic drugs or reduced oxygen supply to the tissues

Etymology: Ancient Greek "nárkōsis" meant "numbness" or "stupor," coming from "narkan," to become numb, the same root that gave us "narcotic." The Greek verb was tied to the torpor delivered by the electric torpedo fish, whose shock left its prey and hunters briefly stunned. That sense of a deadening, sleep-like stillness is what the word carried from the start. English took the term directly from Greek, and it kept the original idea of a state of stupor rather than any specific drug. Its modern use, for a person made insensible by chemicals or lack of oxygen, grew naturally out of that older meaning. The "narco-" element in the word is the same one found in "narcotic," while "-osis" is a Greek suffix that forms nouns of condition or process.

Synonyms: anesthesia, stupor

Antonyms: alertness, consciousness