epilepsy

noun

ep·​i·​lep·​sy ˈe-pə-ˌlep-sē 

plural epilepsies

: any of various disorders marked by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain and typically manifested by sudden brief episodes of altered or diminished consciousness, involuntary movements, or convulsions

Examples of epilepsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Throughout the child’s life, Dee Dee reported that her daughter had (among other things) epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, leukemia, asthma, vision problems, hearing loss, and chromosomal defects. —Katie Rife, EW.com, 9 June 2024

In one letter sent to DeSantis, parents Tracy and Guy Berg wrote about using hemp oil to help with their daughter Riley’s epilepsy. —Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 4 June 2024

And studies in animals and in people with epilepsy (in particular, individuals who had electrodes implanted in their brains to detect seizures) had implicated other sleep-time rhythms in memory processes. —Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024

Cameron Boyce is gone but not forgotten, five years after his sudden death at 20 from a seizure caused by his epilepsy. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 28 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English epilencie, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French epelempsie, modification of Late Latin epilepsia, from Greek epilēpsia, from epilambanein to seize, from epi- + lambanein to take, seize — more at latch

First Known Use

1543, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing epilepsy

• anti-epilepsy
• grand mal epilepsy

Kids Definition

epilepsy

noun

ep·​i·​lep·​sy ˈep-ə-ˌlep-sē 

: a disorder marked by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain, by attacks of convulsions, and by loss of consciousness

Medical Definition

epilepsy

noun

ep·​i·​lep·​sy ˈep-ə-ˌlep-sē 

plural epilepsies

: any of various disorders marked by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain and typically manifested by sudden brief episodes of altered or diminished consciousness, involuntary movements, or convulsions see absence epilepsy, grand mal sense 1, petit mal sense 1 focal epilepsy, jacksonian epilepsy, myoclonic epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy