Meanings
alternative Undine's curse
- medicineA medical condition marked by malfunction of the nerves that control involuntary body functions, causing breathing to require conscious effort and therefore meaning patients will die if they fall asleep.
Ondine’s curse—more appropriately known as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, or CCHS—is a rare, severe form of sleep apnea in which an individual completely stops breathing when falling asleep.
2020 June 9, Brandon Peters, MD, “What Is Ondine's Curse?”, in Ondine's Curse Symptoms and Treatment, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2021
Origin
According to French and German mythology, the nymph Ondine/Undine discovered that her husband had committed adultery. Because he had promised his every waking breath to her, she cursed him that so long as he was awake he could breathe, but if he ever fell asleep he would stop breathing and die.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French syndrome d'Ondine
- syndrome d'Ondinemedical condition, sufferers of which stop breathing if they fall asleep
German Undine-Syndrom
- Undine-Syndrommedical condition, sufferers of which stop breathing if they fall asleep
Polish klątwa Ondyny
- klątwa Ondynymedical condition, sufferers of which stop breathing if they fall asleep
Portuguese maldição de Ondina
- maldição de Ondinamedical condition, sufferers of which stop breathing if they fall asleep
Cite this entry
Ondine's curse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ondine's%20curse
“Ondine's curse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ondine's%20curse. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ondine's curse,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ondine's%20curse.
Source: Ondine's curse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.