Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Inability to stand because of motor incoordination.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun [lowercase] Inability to stand in consequence of defective muscular action, which is not necessarily in coördination or paralysis.
  • noun A genus of eustomatous flagellate infusorians, typical of the family Astasiidæ, having a distinct tubular pharynx. It contains such species as A. trichophora, found in marsh-water.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun medicine Inability to stand without assistance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun inability to stand due to muscular incoordination

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek, unsteadiness, from astatos, unsteady : a-, not; see a– + statos, standing; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • From this same standpoint I have studied another case, a married woman of twenty-nine, with marked neurasthenic and hysterical symptoms (including astasia-abasia, anesthesias, palpitation of the heart, throbbing sensations in the stomach and a great many other symptoms).

    The Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1916

Comments

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  • Just noticed that Anastasia is litotic.

    April 23, 2009

  • She's understated, moll?

    April 23, 2009

  • She's not unable to stand. ("Anastasia" refers to resurrection).

    April 23, 2009