hypnosis
/hɪpˈnəʊ.sɪs/ noun
Forms hypnoses
- noun (uncountable) A trancelike state, artificially induced, in which a person has a heightened suggestibility, and in which suppressed memories may be experienced. “clinical hypnosis”
- noun (uncountable) The practice of inducing hypnosis; hypnotism.
- noun (countable) Any of various sleep-like conditions.
Etymology
From modern scholarly Ancient Greek ὕπνωσις (húpnōsis), which formation closes the derivational gap between the ancient words ὑπνόω (hupnóō, “I put to sleep”) and ὑπνωτικός (hupnōtikós, “sleep-inducing, soporific”). Ultimately traces back to ὕπνος (húpnos, “sleep”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Supervention of sleep.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hypnosis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details