narcolepsy (n.)

"condition characterized by a tendency to fall into a short sleep on any occasion," 1880, from French narcolepsie, coined 1880 by French physician Jean-Baptiste-Édouard Gélineau (1859-1928) from Latinized combining form of Greek narkē "numbness, stupor" (see narcotic (n.)) + -lepsie (as in epilepsy), from Greek lepsis "an attack, seizure," from leps-, future stem of lambanein "take, take hold of, grasp" (see lemma). Related: Narcoleptic; narcolept.