SLEEPING SICKNESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sleeping sickness mean? 

• SLEEPING SICKNESS (noun)
  The noun SLEEPING SICKNESS has 1 sense:

1. an encephalitis that was epidemic between 1915 and 1926; symptoms include paralysis of the extrinsic eye muscle and extreme muscular weakness

  Familiarity information: SLEEPING SICKNESS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SLEEPING SICKNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An encephalitis that was epidemic between 1915 and 1926; symptoms include paralysis of the extrinsic eye muscle and extreme muscular weakness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

encephalitis lethargica; epidemic encephalitis; lethargic encephalitis; sleeping sickness; sleepy sickness

Hypernyms ("sleeping sickness" is a kind of...):

cephalitis; encephalitis; phrenitis (inflammation of the brain usually caused by a virus; symptoms include headache and neck pain and drowsiness and nausea and fever ('phrenitis' is no longer in scientific use))