palsy

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

Also spelled palsey

US /ˈpɔlzi/ UK /ˈpɔːlzi/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
paralysis, often accompanied by involuntary tremors

The stroke left him with a palsy in one arm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · paralysis, often... paralysis paresis tremor disability

Word family

Derived forms palsied

Related forms paralysis paralytic

Simplified etymology

Palsy entered English in the Middle English period from Old French paralisie, which was an alteration of Latin paralysis.

Etymology

From Middle English palesie, from Old French paralisie, a syncopated form of Latin paralysis, from Greek paralysis 'a loosening at the side, paralysis', from para- 'beside' + lyein 'to loosen'.

paralisie Old French paralysis Latin parálysis Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# palsy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɔlzi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɔːlzi/

## Meanings
1. paralysis, often accompanied by involuntary tremors

## Examples
- The stroke left him with a palsy in one arm.

## Synonyms
- paralysis
- paresis
- tremor
- disability

## Derived Forms
- palsied

## Related Forms
- paralysis
- paralytic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: paralisie
- Root: paralysis
- Root: parálysis

## Etymology
From Middle English palesie, from Old French paralisie, a syncopated form of Latin paralysis, from Greek paralysis 'a loosening at the side, paralysis', from para- 'beside' + lyein 'to loosen'.

## AI Etymology
Palsy comes from Middle English palesie, from Old French paralisie, a syncopated form of Latin paralysis, from Greek paralysis 'a loosening at the side, paralysis', from para- 'beside' + lyein 'to loosen'. The etymological trail includes Old French paralisie, Latin paralysis, and Ancient Greek parálysis. As a noun, palsy means paralysis, often accompanied by involuntary tremors. The same family is visible in derived forms such as palsied and related forms such as paralysis and paralytic. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

markdown