convulsion
/kənˈvʌlʃən/kuhn-VUHL-shuhn
/kənˈvʌlʃən/kuhn-VUHL-shuhn
Meaningthe act of convulsing
Common meaning: a violent shaking of the body
Other meanings: an upheaval
- conwith, together; thoroughly
- vulsto pluck, tearLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1965 · scan
- ionnoun ending: act or result
‘with, together’ + ‘to pluck, tear’ → convulsion
Journey through time
- Latinvellō, -ere, vulsum‘to pluck, tear’
- Englishconvulse‘to shake violently’
- Englishformed in English from convulseconvulsion‘a violent shaking of the body’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from convulse + -ion.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), CONVULSE, p.133 · scan
Roots
- vellō, -ere, vulsum Latin “to pluck, tear”
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