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

Experimental drugs increasing orexin may also help people with narcolepsy stay awake longer. —Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026

For example, some data have indicated that certain people were genetically prone to developing narcolepsy following a version of swine-flu vaccine that was briefly used in Europe. —Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026

The drug is currently approved to treat tiredness in people with sleep apnea and narcolepsy. —Neal Riley, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026

Allergies, high blood pressure, and narcolepsy. —Scott Simon, NPR, 25 Oct. 2025

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