Trauma

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtɹɔː.mə/

Definitions

1. a deeply distressing experience or serious physical injury that causes lasting emotional or psychological harm
2. a severe wound or shock to the mind or body resulting from an overwhelming event that produces lasting damage
3. A serious emotional or mental injury caused by distressing events ; a bodily injury typically involving damage to tissues or organs

Etymology: The Greek "traûma" meant simply "wound," and for most of its history in English the word stayed firmly physical. It was borrowed from Greek into English as a medical term for bodily injury, and the sense of psychological harm came much later, as doctors and writers began applying the same word to lasting damage to the mind. The Greek noun derives from the verb "titrṓskō," meaning "to wound" or "to pierce," which is also where the word's sense of a piercing blow comes from. The Greek ending "-ma" marks the result of an action, so "traûma" is literally the thing that has been wounded or the result of wounding. The word has an ancient Indo-European ancestry, but its direct path into English runs straight through Greek medical writing.

Synonyms: injury, shock, wound, distress, pain

Antonyms: comfort, healing, relief, soothing