Ap"o*plex`y (#), n. [OE. poplexye, LL. poplexia, apoplexia, fr. Gr. , fr. to cripple by a stroke; from + to strike: cf. F. apoplexie. See Plague.] Med.
Sudden diminution or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion, usually caused by pressure on the brain.
⇒ The term is now usually limited to cerebral apoplexy, or loss of consciousness due to effusion of blood or other lesion within the substance of the brain; but it is sometimes extended to denote an effusion of blood into the substance of any organ; as, apoplexy of the lung.
© Webster 1913.