Dictionary

palsy en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɔːlzi/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English palesie, from Anglo-Norman paralisie, parleisie et al., from Latin paralysis, from Ancient Greek παράλυσις (parálusis, “palsy”), from παραλύω (paralúō, “to disable on one side”), from παρα- (para-, “beside”) + λύω (lúō, “loosen”). Doublet of paralysis.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part, often accompanied by a loss of feeling and uncontrolled body movements such as shaking.
   • "Ah! now we come to business! Barber, who's dead?" "Alderman Croten, sir." "Tut-tut. Croten gone?" "Yes, sir; palsy took him at a ripe age. And Abel's gone, the Town Crier;" 1891, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 1, in The Blue Pavilions:
   • Again we were stricken of our palsy, slowed down, re-accelerated, and there, at last, were the few huts of a hamlet, with the lorry, lying at an angle in the road's camber, outside a tea-shop. 1952, Norman Lewis, Golden Earth:
   • The palsie plagues my pulses when I prigg yoͬ: piggs or pullen your culuers take, or matchles make your Chanticleare or sullen c. 1620,, anonymous, “Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song” in Giles Earle his Booke (British Museum, Additional MSS. 24, 665)
   • "Young lady, there is no hope; one side of the Duchesse is struck with palsy; she retains her senses, and will, most probably, to the last; but she cannot live through the night." 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 73:

Forms

Deriveds

honeymoon palsy · Erb's palsy · impalsy · palsylike · wasting palsy · Bell's palsy · supranuclear palsy · cerebral palsy · palsical · shaking palsy · scrivener's palsy · Erb-Duchenne palsy · artisan's palsy · nerve palsy · palsywort · Saturday night palsy · night palsy

Synonyms

paralysis

Translations (43)

sk obrna (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu guta (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · cs obrna (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · gv neulheiltys (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · no paralyse (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · fo lammilsi (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu bénultság (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · de Lähmung (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · pl bezwład (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · fi pareesi (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · mk парали́за (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · da lammelse (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · fr paralysie (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · cmn 麻痺 /麻痹 (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · ru парали́ч (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu bénulás (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · el παράλυση (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · gl parálise (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · fo lamningur (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · es perlesía (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · pl porażenie (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · nl verlamming (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu paralízis (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · is lömun (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · tr inme (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · gl perlesía (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu hűdés (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · cmn 癱瘓 /瘫痪 (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · it paralisi (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · ro paralizie (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu szélhűdés (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · fi halvaus (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · gv çhingys neulheiltagh (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · pl paraliż (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · ar كَسَح (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · te పక్షవాతము (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · ro pareză (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · bg парализа (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu gutaütés (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · tr felç (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · ar شَلَل (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu parézis (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part) · hu szélütés (complete or partial muscle paralysis of a body part)

palsy en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɔːlzi/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English palesie, from Anglo-Norman paralisie, parleisie et al., from Latin paralysis, from Ancient Greek παράλυσις (parálusis, “palsy”), from παραλύω (paralúō, “to disable on one side”), from παρα- (para-, “beside”) + λύω (lúō, “loosen”). Doublet of paralysis.

Meanings

1. To paralyse, either completely or partially.
   • Its streets were blocked up with snow - the few passengers seemed palsied with snow, and frozen by the ungenial visitation of winter. 1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter IX, in The Last Man. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:
   • 1831, William Lloyd Garrison, The Liberator, To The Public http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2928t.html In the month of August, I issued proposals for publishing "THE LIBERATOR" in Washington city; but the enterprise, though hailed in different sections of the country, was palsied by public indifference.

Forms

Relateds

apoplexy

palsy en · ADJ · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpælzi/ (UK)

Etymology

From pal + -sy.

Meanings

1. (colloquial) Chummy, friendly.

Forms

palsy en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpælzi/ (UK)

Etymology

From pal + -sy.

Meanings

1. (slang) Mate, chum.
   • Listen, palsy, you're not the boss. 2013, James Hadley Chase, You Can Say That Again:

Forms