epilepsy

UK/ˈɛpɪlɛpsi/US/ˈɛpɪˌlɛpsi/

nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #8,156 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: epilepsies

Epilepsy is a condition of the brain that causes fits. Diagnosed with epilepsy, control the epilepsy, epilepsy medication.

Around one person in a hundred has it, and most have their seizures well controlled by medication. If somebody has a seizure the right thing is to move hard objects away and time it; the old advice about the mouth is wrong and dangerous.

Definitions of epilepsy

1nounepilepsyA condition of the brain that causes fits.B2+
“Because of his epilepsy, he wears a bracelet that tells people what to do if he has a fit.”

epilepsy is a condition.

Where it comes from

Greek epilepsia means a seizing upon, from epilambanein, to seize — epi, upon, plus lambanein, to take.

Ancient Greek
ἐπιληψίᾱ
Latin
epilēpsia
French
épilepsie
English, today
epilepsy

Built from

ἐπιλαμβάνω · Ancient Greek — to seize
ἐπι- · Ancient Greek — upon
λαμβάνω · Ancient Greek — to take

Since 16th century; borrowed from French épilepsie, from Latin epilēpsia, from Ancient Greek ἐπιληψίᾱ, from ἐπιλαμβάνω (“to seize”), from ἐπι- (“upon”) + λαμβάνω (“to take”). Displaced native fiellesēocnes.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

epilepsy in the wild

Not all cases of epilepsy are lifelong, and many people improve to the point that treatment is no longer needed.
Epilepsy
As of 2024, approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, with nearly 80% of cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Epilepsy
Despite sometimes being mistakenly perceived as a benign type of epilepsy, childhood absence epilepsy is associated with varying rates of remission.
Absence seizure
PSE affects approximately one in 4,000 people (5% of those with epilepsy).
Photosensitive epilepsy
Some evidence shows that adults with epilepsy may benefit from the diet and that a less strict regimen, such as a modified Atkins diet, is similarly effective.
Ketogenic diet

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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