somnambulation etymology

Etymology:

  • "Somnambulation" is derived from Latin:
    • "somnus" (sleep) + "ambulare" (to walk)

Meaning:

  • Sleepwalking: a condition in which a person gets up and walks around while still asleep.

Origin:

Somnambulation has been recognized and described for centuries. The term was first used in the 17th century by Thomas Willis, an English physician. Willis suggested that somnambulation was caused by a disturbance in the flow of "animal spirits" in the brain.

In the 19th century, the study of somnambulism became popular among psychologists and neurologists. Jean-Martin Charcot, a French neurologist, believed that somnambulation was a form of hysteria. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, saw somnambulism as a manifestation of repressed desires.

Today, somnambulation is recognized as a sleep disorder. It is believed to be caused by a disruption in the sleep-wake cycle, which can be triggered by stress, anxiety, or other factors. Somnambulation is most common in children, but it can also occur in adults.

somnambulation relate terms

  • somnambulism

    Etymology Somnambulism comes from the Latin somnus meaning sleep and ambulare m

  • amble

    Etymology The word amble is derived from the Old French word ambler which means to

  • somnambulance

    Etymology Late 16th century from Late Latin somnambulus from Latin somnus sleep a

  • somnambulation

    Etymology Somnambulation is derived from Latin somnus sleep ambulare to w

  • sleeping

    Etymology The word sleeping originates from the Old English word slæpan meaning to

  • walk

    Etymology The word walk derives from the Proto Germanic word walkaną meaning to roll

  • dyslexia

    Etymology dys Greek root difficulty abnormality lexia Greek root word speech

  • care

    Etymology From Middle English care from Old English cāru meaning sorrow anxiety g

  • epithet

    Epithet Etymology Derived from the Greek word epítheton meaning something added on

  • regulate

    Etymology The word regulate originates from the Latin word regularis meaning accor

  • fast

    Etymology Fast derives from the Middle English word faste which means to refrain from

  • vocation

    Etymology and Origin The word vocation comes from the Latin word vocatio meaning a