A state of deep unconsciousness or profound sleep, sometimes used in medical terminology to describe extreme lethargy.
From Latin carus meaning 'dear' or 'valued,' but also used in medicine to describe a sleep-like state. The medical sense may derive from confusion with Greek karos (sleep) or represent a separate Latin usage.
In medieval medicine, 'carus' was used to describe a mysterious sleep from which patients couldn't be awakened—doctors thought it was caused by 'phlegmatic humors' blocking the brain, but we now know it was probably meningitis or encephalitis.
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