syncope

[sing-kuh-pee, sin-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR syncope ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

Origin of syncope

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin syncopē < Greek synkopḗ a cutting short, equivalent to syn- syn- + kop- (stem of kóptein to cut) + -ē feminine noun suffix

Related formssyn·cop·ic

[sin-kop-ik] /sɪnˈkɒp ɪk/, syn·co·pal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for syncope

coma, faint, swoon, collapse, unconsciousness

Examples from the Web for syncope

Historical Examples of syncope

In swoons and syncope, the soul no longer performs her ordinary functions.
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet
Verbs which suffer a syncope in the Infinitive, suffer a like syncope in the Pret.
Elements of Gaelic Grammar
Alexander Stewart
I must have lain several hours, partly in syncope, and partly asleep.
The Wild Huntress
Mayne Reid
His breath fails him, and he seems relapsing into the syncope from which he has been aroused.
The Flag of Distress
Mayne Reid
He died in a sort of syncope, seven hours after swallowing the tobacco.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth

British Dictionary definitions for syncope

syncope

noun

pathol a technical word for a faint

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

Derived Formssyncopic (sɪŋˈkɒpɪk) or syncopal, adjective

Word Origin for syncope

C16: from Late Latin syncopa, from Greek sunkopē a cutting off, from syn- + koptein to cut

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for syncope

c.1400, from Late Latin syncopen "contraction of a word," accusative of syncope, from Greek synkope, "contraction of a word," originally "a cutting off," from synkoptein "to cut up," from syn- "together, thoroughly" (see syn-) + koptein "to cut," from PIE root *kop- "to beat, strike" (see hatchet). In pathology, "failure of the heart's action," hence "unconsciousness."

syncope in Medicine

syncope

[sĭng′kə-pē, sĭn′-]

n.

A brief loss of consciousness caused by a sudden fall of blood pressure or failure of the cardiac systole, resulting in cerebral anemia.