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Origin and history of apoplexy

apoplexy(n.)

"sudden fit of paralysis and dizziness," late 14c., from Old French apoplexie or directly from Late Latin apoplexia, from Greek apoplexia, from apoplektos "disabled by a stroke, struck dumb," verbal adjective from apoplēssein "to strike down and incapacitate," from apo "off" (see apo-), in this case perhaps an intensive prefix, + plēssein "to hit" (from PIE root *plak- (2) "to strike;" source also of plague, which also has a root sense of "stricken"). The Latin translation, sideratio, means "disease caused by a constellation."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to apoplexy

plague(n.)

late 14c., plage, "affliction, calamity, evil, scourge, severe trouble or vexation;" early 15c., "malignant disease," from Old French plage (14c., Modern French plaie), from Late Latin plaga "affliction; slaughter, destruction," used in Vulgate for "pestilence," from Latin plaga "stroke, wound," probably from root of plangere "to strike, lament (by beating the breast)," from or cognate with Greek (Doric) plaga "blow" (from PIE root *plak- (2) "to strike").

Sometimes in Middle English also "a strike, a blow" (late 14c.). The Latin word also is the source of Old Irish plag (genitive plaige) "plague, pestilence," German Plage, Dutch plaage. Meaning "epidemic that causes many deaths" is from 1540s; specifically in reference to bubonic plague from c. 1600. Modern spelling follows French, which had plague from 15c. Weakened sense of "anything annoying" is from c. 1600.

apoplectic(adj.)

1610s, "involving apoplexy," from French apoplectique (16c.), from Latin apoplecticus, from Greek apoplektikos "disabled by a stroke, crippled, struck dumb, senseless; crippled, palsied," extended form of apoplektos, verbal adjective of apoplessein "strike down and incapacitate" (see apoplexy).

The meaning "showing symptoms of apoplexy" (1721) gradually shaded into "enraged, very angry" by early 19c. The noun meaning "one suffering apoplexy" is from 1660s.

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stroke
[act of striking] c. 1300, "blow delivered with a weapon, paw, or hand," probably from an unrecorded Old English *strac, from Proto-Germanic *straik- (source also of Middle Low German strek, German streich, Gothic striks "stroke"); see stroke (v.). The meaning "mark of a pen" is
attack
c. 1600, "assault, assail, begin hostilities against," from French attaquer (16c.), from Florentine Italian attaccare (battaglia) "join (battle)," thus the word is a doublet of attach, which was used 15c.-17c. also in the sense now reserved to attack. The meaning "endeavor to bri
accident
late 14c., "an occurrence, incident, event; what comes by chance," from Old French accident (12c.), from Latin accidentem (nominative accidens) "an occurrence; chance; misfortune," noun use of present participle of accidere "happen, fall out, fall upon," from ad "to" (see ad-) +
vacuum
1540s, "emptiness of space," from Latin vacuum "an empty space, vacant place, a void," noun use of neuter of vacuus "empty, unoccupied, devoid of," figuratively "free, unoccupied," from Proto-Italic *wakowos, related to the source of Latin  vacare "to be empty" (from PIE *wa
Platonic
1530s, "of or pertaining to Greek philosopher Plato" (429 B.C.E.-c. 347 B.C.E.), from Latin Platonicus, from Greek Platōnikos. The name is Greek Platōn, a nickname in reference to his broad shoulders (from platys "broad;" from PIE root *plat- "to spread"); his original name was A
atheist
1570s, "godless person, one who denies the existence of a supreme, intelligent being to whom moral obligation is due," from French athéiste (16c.), from Greek atheos "without god, denying the gods; abandoned of the gods; godless, ungodly," from a- "without" (see a- (3)) + theos "
nightingale
"small migratory bird of the Old World, noted for the male's melodious song, heard by night as well as day," Middle English nighte-gale, from Old English næctigalæ, in late Old English nihtegale, a compound formed in Proto-Germanic (compare Dutch nachtegaal, German Nachtigall) fr
premium
c. 1600, "reward given for a specific act or a particular line of conduct," from Latin praemium "reward, profit derived from booty," from prae "before" (see pre-) + emere "to buy," originally "to take" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute"). The sense of "amount to be paid by
genesis
Old English Genesis, first book of the Pentateuch, which tells among other things of the creation of the world, from Latin genesis "generation, nativity," in Late Latin taken as the title of first book of the Old Testament, from Greek genesis "origin, creation, generation," from
assume
early 15c., "to arrogate, take upon oneself," from Latin assumere, adsumere "to take up, take to oneself, take besides, obtain in addition," from ad "to, toward, up to" (see ad-) + sumere "to take," from sub "under" (see sub-) + emere "to take" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distr

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