An involuntary tendency to move or walk with increasingly rapid steps, often seen in people with certain neurological conditions like Parkinson's disease.
From Latin 'festinare' meaning 'to hurry,' combined with the suffix '-ation' indicating an action or process. The medical term emerged in the 19th century to describe this specific symptom.
Doctors borrowed this word from everyday Latin to capture something strange that happens to the body—when your legs start racing ahead of your intentions, your own body betrays your control.
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