-lepsy Also -leptic.

A seizure.

[Greek lēpsis, a seizing, from lambanein, take hold of.]

Common examples relate to medical conditions: epilepsy (Greek epilēpsia, from epilambanein, seize, attack), involving sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions; catalepsy (Greek katalēpsis, from kata, down), a condition of trance or seizure with loss of sensation and consciousness in which the body becomes rigid; narcolepsy (Greek narkē, numbness, on the pattern of epilepsy), a condition in which those affected show an uncontrollable tendency to fall asleep. More rarely, it can refer to other sorts of seizures: nympholepsy (Greek numphē, nymph, bride), a poetic or literary term for a passion aroused in men by beautiful young girls. Adjectives are formed in -leptic: epileptic, nympholeptic.

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