asphyxia Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a condition in which insufficient or no oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged on a ventilatory basis; caused by choking or drowning or electric shock or poison gas

WordNet

As*phyx"i*a, As*phyx"y noun (Also<
  • Asphyxia
  • Asphyxy
)
Etymology
NL. asphyxia, fr. Gr. priv. + to throb, beat.
Definitions
  1. (Med.) Apparent death, or suspended animation; the condition which results from interruption of respiration, as in suffocation or drowning, or the inhalation of irrespirable gases.

Webster 1913