spasm

Etymology

From Middle English spasme, from Old French spasme, from Latin spasmus, from Ancient Greek σπασμός (spasmós, “spasm, convulsion”), from σπάω (spáō, “to draw out, pull out”).

noun

1. A sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ.
   Jessica went into spasms after eating a peanut.
2. A violent, excruciating seizure of pain.
3. A sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion.
   He would use the simplest, plainest language, he said to himself over and over again; but it is not always easy to use simple, plain language,—by no means so easy as to mount on stilts, and to march along with sesquipedalian words, with pathos, spasms, and notes of interjection. 1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage

verb

1. To produce and undergo a spasm or series of spasms.