Plural of heatstroke; serious medical conditions caused by the body overheating, usually from exposure to extreme heat and exertion.
Compound of 'heat' and 'stroke,' where 'stroke' originally meant a blow or sudden impact (Old English 'stracian'). The word metaphorically describes heat's sudden, damaging effect on the body.
'Heatstroke' is a relatively recent medical term—before the Industrial Revolution and modern heat exposure risks, doctors wouldn't have needed it. The metaphor of heat as a 'stroke' or blow reveals how people suddenly conceptualized thermal illness as an attack.
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