Definition

Noun: A chronic, progressive neurological disorder primarily affecting movement, characterized by tremor, muscle rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability. It results from the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain.

Usage

This is a formal or medical term. It is used to name the specific neurological condition. * The patient was diagnosed with shaking palsy. * Shaking palsy is more commonly known today as Parkinson's disease.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in historical or technical medical contexts to refer to what is now standardly called Parkinson's disease.
  • The 19th-century medical text described the symptoms of shaking palsy in detail.

Variants and Related Words

• Parkinson's disease (n): The modern and more common name for the same disorder.
  • Research for Parkinson's disease has advanced significantly.
• Parkinsonism (n): A general term for neurological syndromes that produce movement features similar to Parkinson's disease.
  • The drug can induce symptoms of parkinsonism.

Synonyms

• Parkinson's disease
• Paralysis agitans (a direct Latin translation of "shaking palsy," used in older medical literature)

Related Idioms or Phrases

• To have a palsy: An archaic or non-standard phrasing meaning to have a condition involving tremors or paralysis. It is not a standard medical term for this condition.
  • The old man's hands had a palsy, making it hard for him to write. (This describes a symptom, not necessarily the specific disease.)

Noun

1. a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by tremor and impaired muscular coordination