n.
- Sudden impairment of neurological function, especially that resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage; a stroke.
- A sudden effusion of blood into an organ or tissue.
- A fit of extreme anger; rage: "The proud . . . members suffered collective apoplexy, and this year they are out for blood" (David Finch).
[Middle English apoplexie, from Old French, from Late Latin apoplēxia, from Greek apoplēxiā, from apoplēssein, apoplēg-, to cripple by a stroke : apo-, intensive pref.; see apo- + plēssein, to strike.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.