Last year I had a bit of an attack of dizziness. An attack of lightheadedness came out of nowhere and was very disorientating. I did eventually see an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist who diagnosed it as a temporary infection in my inner ear.
Talking to doctors always makes me think about the different words we use for our illnesses and body malfunctions. Was I dizzy? Woozy? Giddy? Was I experiencing benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)? The word we choose will affect how seriously we see our affliction.
Lightheadedness
I love the word lightheadedness, it has a delightful compound-word-making construction almost like a German “tapeworm word” (see bandwurmworter). It is the sense of slight dizziness you get when you feel you are about to faint, commonly caused by standing up too quickly, heat exposure, dehydration, physical exertion or medication.
Dizzy—a bit foolish
“Dizzy” has roots in Old English “dysig” meaning foolish or stupid. It is thought to come from an early word for dust or vapour and implied a defect of the senses. This meaning has faded away but still remains in the stereotype of the “dizzy blonde” from the late 19th century. By the 15th century, dizzy had taken on its modern sense of feeling faint or unsteady.
Giddy—mad and insane dizzy
The word giddy originally had nothing to do with dizziness. Old English “gidig” meant insane or possessed by a god. However, the word has softened from describing madness to a more fleeting, excitable state. By the 16th century, giddy had come to mean a confused or disoriented sensation. Today, we often use it to describe a kind of emotional dizziness—we might feel giddy with excitement or love.
Woozy—dazed disorientation dizzy
“Woozy” is a much more recent word, having appeared in US English around 1897 from student slang. It likely evolved from “oozy” meaning muddy, or as a variant of “boozy” linking it to the dazed feeling caused by alcohol.
Early meanings included foolish or behind the times. Today, “woozy” describes a state of foggy, muddled or dazed confusion or disorientation, often associated with illness, exhaustion, or intoxication.
Vertigo—turning sickness
“Vertigo” comes from Latin “vertere”, meaning to turn. Originally, it referred to a spinning movement before shifting to describing the sensation of whirling, falling or imbalance. “Vertigo” is a more formal and medical term for dizziness. The most common form being BPPV. BPPV is the brief, intense sense of spinning triggered by a rapid change in head movement (e.g. when you turn over in bed or get hit in the head).
The Old English term for vertigo was “turn-sick”. Wonderfully descriptive we should perhaps bring it back.
Choose your dizziness carefully
What about you? Has a moment of dizziness made you ask yourself am I experiencing a bout of vertigo, a reckless thrill of giddiness, a foggy confusion of wooziness, or just good old fashioned dizziness? Or did you just fall over?