spasmodic

Etymology

From New Latin spasmōdicus, from Ancient Greek σπασμώδης (spasmṓdēs, “spasmodic”), from σπασμός (spasmós, “spasm”).

adj

1. Of or relating to a spasm; resembling a sudden contraction of the muscles.
2. Convulsive; consisting of spasms.
   spasmodic asthma
   […] Dr. Francis Fuller, […] upon wearing a Quick-ſilver Girdle, for the Cure of the Itch, (and that after an inconſiderate and raſh manner) was brought under a violent Spaſmodick Diſtemper, which was ſupposed by himſelf and others to be owing to ſome Mercurial Particles lodg'd in ſome excretory Ducts of the Brain. 1734, T[homas] K[night], A Critical Dissertation upon the Manner of the Preparation of Mercurial Medicines, and Their Operation on Human Bodies; particularly Those Most in Fashion:[…], London: Printed for Harmen Noorthouck[…], →OCLC, page 52
3. Intermittent or fitful; occurring in abrupt bursts.
   spasmodic zeal or industry
   The chin was heavy, the nostrils were low and wide, and the lower lip hung loosely except in his moments of spasmodic earnestness, when it shut like a steel trap. 1900 April, Willa Cather, “Eric Hermannson's Soul”, in Cosmopolitan
4. Erratic or unsustained.
5. Of or relating to the spasmodic poets, a group of British Victorian poets who wrote introspective drama in verse.

noun

1. A medicine for suppressing spasms.