epilepsy

Epilepsy entered English in the 16th century from French épilepsie, from Latin epilēpsia, from Ancient Greek ἐπιληψίᾱ (epilēpsíā). That Greek word comes from ἐπιλαμβάνω (epilambánō, 'to seize'), built from ἐπι- ('upon') plus λαμβάνω ('to take').

The word displaced the native Old English term fiellesēocnes, literally 'falling sickness,' which had described the condition before the Greek-derived term took over.