falling sickness
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Epilepsy, in which the patient falls suddenly to the ground. Shake- speare plays on the term: — And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “falling sickness” mean?
Epilepsy, in which the patient falls suddenly to the ground. Shake- speare plays on the term: — And honest Casca, we have the falling-sickness.
Is “falling sickness” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.