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The English word torpor is a 13th-century borrowing from Latin: torpōr-, torpor mean "numbness, paralysis, absence of energy, lethargy," and correspond to the Latin verb torpēre, meaning "to be numb, lack sensation; to be struck motionless; to be sluggish or lethargic." Early use of the English word is found in a 13th-century guide for religious recluses, where it refers to a spiritual or intellectual lethargy, but scant evidence of the word appears between that point and the 1600s, when the word began to be used in reference to both mental and physical sluggishness. The related adjective torpid (from the Latin adjective torpidus, meaning "numbed" or "paralyzed") has since the 15th century been used to mean "numb," but today it more often means "lacking in energy or vigor."
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Examples of torpor in a Sentence
Chris Klimek, Vulture, 17 July 2024
To be ready to meet the day, for example, the birds begin to rouse from their torpor about an hour before sunrise, well before visible light cues.
—Bob Holmes, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Oct. 2024
What remains of the country’s opposition is now in exile — where they have been joined by those who awakened from this torpor.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
And blessed be John Leguizamo for coming out at the two-hour mark to shatter the torpor with his razor-sharp ripping of DEI critics and bigots.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Torpor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torpor. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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torpor
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