PALSY (palsied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: palsied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does palsy mean? 

• PALSY (noun)
  The noun PALSY has 2 senses:

1. loss of the ability to move a body part

2. a condition marked by uncontrollable tremor

  Familiarity information: PALSY used as a noun is rare.

• PALSY (verb)
  The verb PALSY has 1 sense:

1. affect with palsy

  Familiarity information: PALSY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PALSY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Loss of the ability to move a body part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

palsy; paralysis

Hypernyms ("palsy" is a kind of...):

disfunction; dysfunction ((medicine) any disturbance in the functioning of an organ or body part or a disturbance in the functioning of a social group)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "palsy"):

akinesia; akinesis (motionlessness attributable to a temporary paralysis)

alalia (paralysis of the vocal cords resulting in an inability to speak)

cystoparalysis; cystoplegia (paralysis of the urinary bladder)

diplegia (paralysis of corresponding parts on both sides of the body)

Erb's palsy; Erb-Duchenne paralysis (paralysis of the arm resulting from injury to the brachial plexus (usually during childbirth))

monoplegia (paralysis of a single limb)

ophthalmoplegia (paralysis of the motor nerves of the eye)

paresis (a slight or partial paralysis)

paraplegia (paralysis of the lower half of the body (most often as a result of trauma))

hemiplegia; unilateral paralysis (paralysis of one side of the body)

quadriplegia (paralysis of both arms and both legs)

Derivation:

palsy (affect with palsy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A condition marked by uncontrollable tremor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("palsy" is a kind of...):

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

Derivation:

palsy (affect with palsy)

• PALSY (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Affect with palsy

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "palsy" is one way to...):

paralyse; paralyze (cause to be paralyzed and immobile)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

palsy (a condition marked by uncontrollable tremor)

palsy (loss of the ability to move a body part)

 Context examples 

A pause—in which I began to steady the palsy of my nerves, and to feel that the Rubicon was passed; and that the trial, no longer to be shirked, must be firmly sustained.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Bell's palsy is the most common cause of facial paralysis.

(Bell's Palsy, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Sir Nigel happened, however, to turn himself in his saddle—Ford instantly became as stiff and as rigid as though he had been struck with a palsy.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Also called: Shaking Palsy, Paralysis agitans, Shaking palsy

(Parkinson's Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

She stopped and a shudder ran through her, increasing in intensity for a few seconds, till, at the end, she shook as though in a palsy.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He shook as with a palsy.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Early signs of cerebral palsy usually appear before 3 years of age.

(Cerebral Palsy, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Infrequently, patients may present with pain and facial palsy.

(Pleomorphic Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Sudden hemorrhage or ischemic necrosis involving the pituitary gland which may be associated with acute visual loss, severe headache, meningeal signs, cranial nerve palsies, panhypopituitarism, and rarely COMA.

(Pituitary Gland Apoplexy, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Individuals with ataxic cerebral palsy walk very unsteadily, with a wide-based gait.

(Ataxic Cerebral Palsy, NCI Thesaurus)