ondine's curse
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A medical condition marked by malfunction of the nerves that control involuntary body functions, causing breathing to require conscious effort and therefore meaning patients will die if they fall asleep.
Example Sentences
- "Ondine’s curse—more appropriately known as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, or CCHS—is a rare, severe form of sleep apnea in which an individual completely stops breathing when falling asleep."
Etymology
According to French and German mythology, the nymph Ondine/Undine discovered that her husband had committed adultery. Because he had promised his every waking breath to her, she cursed him that so long as he was awake he could breathe, but if he ever fell asleep he would stop breathing and die.