narcolepsy

noun

nar·​co·​lep·​sy ˈnär-kə-ˌlep-sē 

plural narcolepsies

: a condition characterized by brief attacks of deep sleep often occurring with cataplexy and hypnagogic hallucinations

narcoleptic

ˌnär-kə-ˈlep-tik 

adjective

Examples of narcolepsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This month, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first orexin agonist treatment for narcolepsy. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 20 Aug. 2026

But now there’s a drug that addresses one of the biological mechanisms involved in narcolepsy. — Alice Park, Time, 18 Aug. 2026

It’s cleared to treat narcolepsy type 1, a taxing condition in which patients have a deficiency of the orexin neuron and experience bouts of sleepiness and muscle weakness during the day. — Elaine Chen, STAT, 5 Aug. 2026

The studies consisted of a single patient case report for narcolepsy and two small, uncontrolled studies for opioid withdrawal. — ABC News, 24 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French narcolepsie, from narco- narco- + -lepsie -lepsy

Note: The French word was introduced by the physician and neurologist Jean-Baptiste Gélineau in "De la narcolepsie," Gazette des hôpitaux civils et militaires, 53e année, no. 76 (1er juillet 1880), p. 626: "Je propose de donner le nom de narcolepsie (de νάρκωσις, somnolence, et λαμβάνειν, saisir, prendre) à une névrose rare ou du moins peu connue jusqu'à ce jour, caractérisée par un besoin de dormir impérieux, subit et de courte durée, se reproduisant à des intervalles plus ou moins rapprochées." ("I propose to give the name narcolepsy (from nárkōsis, drowsiness, and lambánein, to seize, take) to a neurosis that is rare, or at least little known up to now, characterized by a pressing urge to sleep, sudden and of short duration, reoccurring in more or less close succession.")

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for narcolepsy

• catalepsy
• epilepsy

Medical Definition

narcolepsy

noun

nar·​co·​lep·​sy ˈnär-kə-ˌlep-sē 

plural narcolepsies

: a condition characterized by brief attacks of deep sleep often occurring with cataplexy and hypnagogic hallucinations compare hypersomnia sense 2