syncope

American  

[sing-kuh-pee, sin-] / ˈsɪŋ kəˌpi, ˈsɪn- /

noun

• syncopes
  plural

1. Grammar. the contraction of a word by omitting one or more sounds from the middle, as in the reduction of never to ne'er.

2. Pathology. brief loss of consciousness associated with transient cerebral anemia, as in heart block, sudden lowering of the blood pressure, etc.; fainting.

---

syncope British  

/ ˈsɪŋkəpɪ /

noun

1. pathol a technical word for a faint

2. the omission of one or more sounds or letters from the middle of a word

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• syncopal
  adjective
• syncopic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• syncopes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of syncope

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin syncopē, from Greek synkopḗ “a cutting short,” from syn- syn- + kopḗ “a cutting” (from kóptein “to cut”)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

syncope syncopes

"We also hope to more closely examine cerebral blood flow and neural pathways in the brain during the moment of syncope, to better understand this common but mysterious condition," they note.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2023

Interestingly, another meaning for syncope is to contract a word by omitting middle sounds or letters.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2022

There are four types of common heat illnesses that Lawrence says can range from minor to life-threatening, including heat syncope, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022

It is when children hold their breath when upset until they experience syncope, or passing out.

From Fox News ● Feb. 17, 2022

The light that long ago had struck me into syncope, recalled in this vision, seemed glidingly to mount the wall, and tremblingly to pause in the centre of the obscured ceiling.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

As a child I had suffered from syncopes which had lasted several hours, but surely my heart would beat anew, my blood circulate and my muscles relax.

From Four Short Stories By Emile Zola by Émile Zola

Her health has been good since her last operation, the syncopes are easy, and the communications obtained in this state have acquired a degree of coherence and plausibility which was previously wanting.

From Mrs. Piper & the Society for Psychical Research by Michael Sage

Have we ever seen lethargies, or swoons, or syncopes last whole years together?

From The Phantom World or, The philosophy of spirits, apparitions, &c, &c. by Henry Christmas

Whytt mentions a woman of delicate constitution and great sensibility of the digestive tract in whom foods difficult of digestion provoked spasms, which were often followed by syncopes.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle