epileptic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   relating to epilepsy or involving seizures caused by epilepsy

   The patient received immediate care after an epileptic seizure.

2. 2
   noun

   dated and often avoided: a person who has epilepsy

   Modern medical writing usually says 'a person with epilepsy' rather than 'an epileptic.'

From Greek epileptikos, 'liable to seizure,' from epilambanein, 'to seize or take hold of.' The noun use labels a person by the condition and is now commonly replaced by person-first wording.

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