Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Definition: \Cat"a*lep`sy\, Catalepsis \Cat`a*lep"sis\, n. [NL.
catalepsis, fr. Gr. ? a seizure, fr. ? to seize upon; kata`
down + ? to take, seize.] (Med.)
A sudden suspension of sensation and volition, the body and
limbs preserving the position that may be given them, while
the action of the heart and lungs continues.

"A momentary silence that ensued was broken by Mr F.'s Aunt, who had
been sitting upright in a cataleptic state since her last public
remark. She now underwent a violent twitch, calculated to produce
a startling effect on the nerves of the uninitiated, and with the
deadliest animosity observed:..."