spasm

English

Etymology

From Middle English spasme, from Old French spasme, from Latin spasmus, from Ancient Greek σπασμός (spasmós, “spasm, convulsion”), from σπάω (spáō, “to draw out, pull out”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspæz.əm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æzəm

Noun

spasm (plural spasms)

1. A sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ.

   Jessica went into spasms after eating a peanut.

2. A violent, excruciating seizure of pain.
3. A sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion.
   • 1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:

     He would use the simplest, plainest language, he said to himself over and over again; but it is not always easy to use simple, plain language,—by no means so easy as to mount on stilts, and to march along with sesquipedalian words, with pathos, spasms, and notes of interjection.

   • 1981 April 11, Mitzel, “Kopacz Acquitted In Barbre Killing”, in Gay Community News, page 1:

     Both Spear & Davis were indicted in the witchhunt surrounding the sensational (if nonexistent) "Revere sex ring." Both men have said they have been police targets since at least 1975, following the anti-gay spasm which ensued after Dick Bavely's suicide.

Derived terms

• angiospasm
• arteriospasm
• blepharospasm
• bronchospasm
• cadaveric spasm
• cardiospasm
• cheirospasm
• colpospasm
• cystospasm
• dactylospasm
• enterospasm
• esophagospasm
• gastrospasm
• geniospasm
• graphospasm
• hemispasm
• laryngospasm
• myospasm
• neurospasm
• ophthalmospasm
• pharyngospasm
• phrenospasm
• pylorospasm
• spasm band
• spasmic
• spasmogen
• spasmogenic
• spasmoid
• spasmology
• spasmolysis
• spasmophilia
• spasm war
• vasospasm
• xyrospasm

 

Related terms

• spasmodic
• spastic

Translations

contraction of a muscle

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Adyghe: please add this translation if you can
• Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
• Aghwan: please add this translation if you can
• Akan: please add this translation if you can
• Aklanon: please add this translation if you can
• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: تَشَنُّج m (tašannuj)
• Bashkir: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Bau Bidayuh: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: спазма f (spazma)
• Bengali: please add this translation if you can
• Bikol Central: please add this translation if you can
• Breton: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: крамп m (kramp), гърч (bg) m (gǎrč)
• Catalan: espasme m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 痙攣／痉挛 (ging⁶lyun⁴)

  Mandarin: 痙攣／痉挛 (zh) (jìngluán)

• Czech: křeč (cs) f
• Danish: krampe (da)
• Dutch: kramp (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: spasmo
• Finnish: spasmi (fi), kouristus (fi)
• French: spasme (fr) m
• German: Krampf (de) m, Muskelkrampf (de) m, Spasmus m
• Greek: σπασμός (el) m (spasmós), σύσπαση (el) f (sýspasi)

  Ancient: σπασμός m (spasmós)

• Hebrew: עֲוִית (he) f ('avít)
• Hungarian: görcs (hu)
• Ingrian: rapahus
• Irish: ríog m
• Italian: spasmo (it) m
• Japanese: 痙攣 (ja) (けいれん, keiren)
• Korean: 경련(痙攣) (ko) (gyeongnyeon)
• Latvian: krampji
• Macedonian: грч (mk) m (grč)
• Maori: timu, tumu, hōkai (of the limbs)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: krampe (no) m, spasme m

  Nynorsk: krampe m, spasme m

• Plautdietsch: Kraump f
• Polish: spazm (pl) m, kurcz (pl), skurcz (pl) m
• Portuguese: espasmo (pt) m
• Quechua: q'iwiykuy
• Romanian: spasm (ro) n
• Russian: спазм (ru) m (spazm)
• Serbo-Croatian: grč (sh) m
• Slovak: kŕč
• Slovene: krč (sl) m
• Spanish: espasmo (es) m
• Swedish: kramp (sv)
• Tagalog: kisay
• Turkish: spazm (tr)
• Vietnamese: co thắt
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: sbasm m, gwingiad m, gwewyr m
• West Coast Bajau: please add this translation if you can
• Wolof: please add this translation if you can
• Yámana: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can
• Yucatec Maya: please add this translation if you can
• Yup'ik: please add this translation if you can
• Zazaki: spazm
• Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
• Zulu: please add this translation if you can

a violent, excruciating seizure of pain

• Bulgarian: спазма (bg) f (spazma)
• Dutch: stuip (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: spasmo
• Finnish: kipukohtaus
• Greek: σπασμός (el) m (spasmós), κρίση (el) f (krísi)
• Plautdietsch: Stäakj f
• Turkish: kramp (tr)

a sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion

• Bulgarian: изблик (bg) m (izblik)
• Finnish: puuska (fi), kohtaus (fi)
• German: Anfall (de) m
• Greek: κρίση (el) f (krísi), παροξυσμός (el) m (paroxysmós)
• Irish: taom m
• Spanish: acceso (es) m

Verb

spasm (third-person singular simple present spasms, present participle spasming, simple past and past participle spasmed)

1. To produce and undergo a spasm or series of spasms.

Translations

to produce a sudden spasm or uncontrolled movement of the muscles

• German: verkrampfen (de), krampfen (de)
• Maori: hoto, io (mi)

Anagrams

• samps, spams

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French spasme.

Noun

spasm n (plural spasme)

1. spasm

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	spasm	spasmul		spasme	spasmele
genitive-dative	spasm	spasmului		spasme	spasmelor
vocative	spasmule			spasmelor

Swedish

Etymology

From Old French spasme, from Latin spasmus, from Ancient Greek σπασμός (spasmós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspasm/, [ˈspasːm]

Noun

spasm c

1. spasm

Declension

Declension of spasm

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	spasm	spasms
	definite	spasmen	spasmens
plural	indefinite	spasmer	spasmers
	definite	spasmerna	spasmernas

References

• spasm in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)