Somnambulisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition characterized by walking or performing complex behaviors while in a sleep state
2. the act of moving about while still asleep
3. a type of disorder where individuals engage in activities during sleep without conscious awareness

Etymology: The plural "somnambulisms" is simply the form of "somnambulism" used when speaking of several cases or kinds of sleepwalking. The noun itself is built from two Latin words: "somnus," meaning sleep, and "ambulare," meaning to walk. The Latin pieces were joined in New Latin as "somnambulus," a sleepwalker, and French then adopted it as "somnambulisme," with the English suffix "-ism" added to name the condition. The striking thing is that the word is a deliberate coinage rather than an ancient term. Classical Latin had no such compound, so the ancient Romans never described sleepwalking this way; scholars assembled it from classical roots in the early modern period, which is why it looks older than it is. The English form follows the French, so the word carries a learned, clinical flavour from the start.

Synonyms: sleepwalking