Pa*ral"y*sis (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. , fr. to loosen, dissolve, or disable at the side; beside + to loosen. See Para-, and Loose, and cf. Palsy.] Med.
Abolition of function, whether complete or partial; esp., the loss of the power of voluntary motion, with or without that of sensation, in any part of the body; palsy. See Hemiplegia, and Paraplegia. Also used figuratively.
"Utter
paralysis of memory."
G. Eliot.
Mischievous practices arising out of the paralysis of the powers of ownership.
Duke of Argyll (1887).
© Webster 1913.