spasm

American  

[spaz-uhm] / ˈspæz əm /

noun

1. Pathology. a sudden, abnormal, involuntary muscular contraction, consisting of a continued muscular contraction tonic spasm or of a series of alternating muscular contractions and relaxations clonic spasm.

2. any sudden, brief spell of great energy, activity, feeling, etc.

   Synonyms:

   spurt, flash, storm, fit

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verb (used without object)

1. to undergo a spasm or spasms.

   Her eyesight had changed, and tests showed the muscles that allow the eye to focus were spasming.

spasm British  

/ ˈspæzəm /

noun

1. an involuntary muscular contraction, esp one resulting in cramp or convulsion

2. a sudden burst of activity, emotion, etc

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Etymology

Origin of spasm

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English spasme, spasom, from Old French (e)spasme and Latin spasmus, from Greek spasmós “convulsion,” derivative of spân “to draw (a sword), pull out, tear out, suck in, slurp down”

Explanation

A spasm is a sudden constriction of a muscle or blood vessel. This idea can be generalized to anything that occurs suddenly and lasts a short while. Except for a brief spasm of yard work, you had a perfectly lazy Sunday. The Greeks had a word called spasmós, which meant "to cramp or convulse." It also meant "to tear away or violently pull," which, if you've ever suffered a muscle spasm you know is a good definition. The word had a physical meaning up until around 1817, when it came to include the abstract. When you were invited to go hiking in the redwood forest, you could hardly control your spasms of joy. Make sure you stretch before hiking, so you don't get muscle spasms.

Example Sentences

Alan's friendship with Adrian, who at the time was a bassist in The Spasm Band, led to him fulfilling his life-long ambition of performing on stage with a band.

From BBC • Oct. 6, 2023

In June, Kirk will take over Spasso House, the U.S. embassy just a mile from the Kremlin, known to some of the inmates as Spasm House.

From Time Magazine Archive

Spasm after spasm of revolt went through him.

From Three Soldiers by Dos Passos, John

Spasm of the thigh, or cramp of a hind limb.—This is frequently witnessed in horses that stand on sloping plank floors—generally in cold weather—or it may come on soon after severe exercise.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.

Medical men, moreover, speak of "Spasm of the glottis," and singing masters of the "Shock of the glottis," which terms are clearly quite meaningless when applied to a space.

From The Mechanism of the Human Voice by Behnke, Emil

Related Words

• contraction
• convulsion
• eruption
• outburst
• pain
• paroxysm
• seizure