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somnambulism - 8 dictionary results
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som⋅nam⋅bu⋅lism

  [som-nam-byuh-liz-uhm, suhm-]
Use somnambulism in a Sentence
–noun
sleepwalking.
Origin:
1790–1800; < NL somnambulismus, equiv. to somn(us) sleep + ambul(āre) to walk + -ismus -ism

Related forms:
som⋅nam⋅bu⋅list, noun
som⋅nam⋅bu⋅lis⋅tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sleep·walk·ing   (slēp'wô'kĭng)   
n.  The act or an instance of walking or performing another activity associated with wakefulness while asleep or in a sleeplike state. Also called noctambulism, somnambulism.
som·nam·bu·lism   (sŏm-nām'byə-lĭz'əm)   
n.  See sleepwalking.
som·nam'bu·list n., som·nam'bu·lis'tic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Somnambulism

Som*nam"bu*lism\, n. [Cf. F. somnambulisme. See Somnambulation.] A condition of the nervous system in which an individual during sleep performs actions approppriate to the waking state; a state of sleep in which some of the senses and voluntary powers are partially awake; noctambulism.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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somnambulism 
1794 (as somnambulation), from Mod.L. somnambulus "sleepwalker," from L. somnus "sleep" (see somnolence) + ambulare "to walk" (see amble). Won out over noctambulation. To talk in one's sleep is somniloquence (1841).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: som·nam·bu·lism
Pronunciation: säm-'nam-by&-"liz-&m
Function: noun
1 : an abnormal condition of sleepin which motor acts (as walking) are performed
2 : actions characteristic of somnambulism —som·nam·bu·lis·tic /(")säm-"nam-by&-'lis-tik/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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somnambulism som·nam·bu·lism (sŏm-nām'byə-lĭz'əm)
n.
See sleepwalking.

som·nam'bu·lis'tic adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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somnambulism

a behavioral disorder of sleep in which a person sits up and performs various motor actions, such as standing, walking about, talking, eating, screaming, dressing, going to the bathroom, or even leaving the house. The episode usually ends with the sleepwalker returning to sleep, with no subsequent memory of the episode. Sleepwalking is most common in children, though it may also appear in adolescents and young adults. It occurs only during deep sleep, when dreams are basically absent. Sleepwalking becomes dangerous only when the possibility exists of the sleepwalker accidentally injuring himself.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Sleepwalking
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