torpor

torpor
/tawr"peuhr/, n.
1. sluggish inactivity or inertia.
2. lethargic indifference; apathy.
3. a state of suspended physical powers and activities.
4. dormancy, as of a hibernating animal.
[1600-10; < L: numbness, equiv. to torp(ere) to be stiff or numb + -or -OR1]
Syn. 2. stolidity, listlessness, lethargy. 4. sleepiness, slumber, drowsiness.

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      a state of lowered body temperature and metabolic activity assumed by many animals in response to adverse environmental conditions, especially cold and heat. The torpid state may last overnight, as in temperate-zone hummingbirds and some insects and reptiles; or it may last for months, in the case of true hibernation and the winter torpor of many cold-blooded vertebrates.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Torpor — Tor por, n. [L., from torpere, to be torpid.] [1913 Webster] 1. Loss of motion, or of the motion; a state of inactivity with partial or total insensibility; numbness. [1913 Webster] 2. Dullness; sluggishness; inactivity; as, a torpor of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Tórpor — (lat., Torpidität), Gefühl , Reizlosigkeit …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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