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shock¹

(shŏk)

1. A violent collision, impact, or explosion, or the force or movement resulting from this: The shock of the explosion blew out windows of every building on the street.

a. Something that suddenly causes emotional distress: The news of his death was a shock to all of us.

b. A sudden feeling of distress: The shock of the news has not yet worn off.

3. A massive, acute physiological reaction usually to physical trauma, infection, or allergy, characterized by a marked loss of blood pressure, resulting in a diminished blood flow to body tissues and a rapid heart rate.

4. The sensation and muscular spasm caused by an electric current passing through the body or a body part.

5. A sudden economic disturbance, such as a rise in the price of a commodity.

6. A shock absorber.

v. shocked, shock·ing, shocks

v.tr.

1. To surprise and disturb greatly: We were shocked by his admission of wrongdoing.

2. To induce a state of physical shock in (an animal or person).

a. To subject (an animal or person) to an electric shock.

b. To administer electric current to (a patient) to treat cardiac arrest or life-threatening arrhythmias.

c. To administer electroconvulsive therapy to (a patient).

v.intr.
Archaic

To come into contact violently, as in battle; collide.

[French choc, from choquer, to collide with, from Old French chuquier, perhaps of Germanic origin.]

shock²

(shŏk)

1. A number of sheaves of grain stacked upright in a field for drying.

2. A thick heavy mass: a shock of white hair.

tr.v. shocked, shock·ing, shocks

To gather (grain) into shocks.

[Middle English shok.]

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shock2

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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