: a state of stupor, unconsciousness, or arrested activity produced by the influence of narcotics or other chemical or physical agents compare nitrogen narcosis
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebBecause the reef was located so far down, guarding against narcosis or even states of drowsiness was vital in order to let the scientists study the reef. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 11 Feb. 2022 Even experts risk equipment failures, insufficient decompression, and the dangerous confusion induced by nitrogen narcosis. Nick Romeo, National Geographic, 11 July 2016
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from New Latin narcōsis, borrowed from Greek nárkōsis "benumbing," from narkō-, variant stem of narkoûn "to benumb, deaden" (verbal derivative of nárkē "numbness, lack of sensation," of uncertain origin) + -sis-sis
Note: Greek nárkē has been compared with Old High German in-snerahan "to tie up (to), link (to)," hypothetically reflecting an Indo-European verbal base *snerk- "draw together, loop around" (thus Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Auflage, Wiesbaden, 2001; see snare entry 1), but the semantic connection is far from apparent. (The Lexikon inaccurately translates nárkē as "Krampf, Lähmung" = "cramp, paralysis.") R. Beekes (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009) regards the word as most likely of pre-Greek substratal origin.