entumecer

Spanish

Alternative forms

  • entomecer (nonstandard)
  • entormecer, atormecer, atomecer (crossed with adormecer)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin intumēscere. According to Coromines & Pascual, first attested in Baltasar Gracián (17th century). The verb was partly affected by the inherited verb adormecer, producing some of the alternative forms shown above.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /entumeˈθeɾ/ [ẽn̪.t̪u.meˈθeɾ] (Spain)
  • IPA(key): /entumeˈseɾ/ [ẽn̪.t̪u.meˈseɾ] (Latin America, Philippines)
  • Rhymes: -eɾ
  • Syllabification: en‧tu‧me‧cer

Verb

entumecer (first-person singular present entumezco, first-person singular preterite entumecí, past participle entumecido)

  1. (transitive) to numb
  2. (reflexive) to go numb
    Se me entumeció el dedo.
    My finger went numb.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading