succussation

noun /sʌkəˈseɪʃən/

1. Violent shaking or jolting.

   countable, obsolete, uncountable

   in order, by a more frequent and a more convulsive elevation and depression of the diaphragm, and the succussations of the intercostal and abdominal muscles in laughter, to drive the gall and other bitter juices from the gall bladder

2. A trot or trotting.

   countable, obsolete, uncountable

   They rode, but authors having not / Determin'd whether pace or trot, / That is to say, whether tollutation, / As they do term't, or succussation […]

Where it comes from

From Medieval Latin succussatio, from the past participle stem of Latin succussare, frequentative of succutere, from sub- + quatere (“shake”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry succussation (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← succadesuchness →

Another random word More words starting with S