catalepsy
/ˈkætəˌlɛpsi/noun
catalepsy is spelled C-A-T-A-L-E-P-S-Y: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 30 million words in written English, the 165,739th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, catalepsy means “A severe bodily condition, described in psychiatric pathology, marked by sudden rigidity, fixation of posture, and loss of contact with environmental…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of catalepsy is catalepsies.
How many letters and syllables are in catalepsy?
| Letters | 9: C-A-T-A-L-E-P-S-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 30 million words; the 165,739th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is catalepsy?
Catalepsy appears about once in every 30 million words in written English, the 165,739th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce catalepsy?
- /ˈkætəˌlɛpsi/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-catalepsy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of catalepsy
- catalepsies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does catalepsy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A severe bodily condition, described in psychiatric pathology, marked by sudden rigidity, fixation of posture, and loss of contact with environmental conditions.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Catalepsy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense catalepsy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | catalepsie |
| German | Katalepsie, Starrsucht |
| Portuguese | catalepsia |
| Spanish | catalepsia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does catalepsy come from?
From Ancient Greek κατάληψις (katálēpsis, “act of seizing”), from καταλαμβάνω (katalambánō, “to seize”), from κατά (katá, “against”) + λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”). By surface analysis, cata- + -lepsy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).