What does stertor mean?
A stertor is a loud snore or the sound of heavy, labored breathing, particularly the noise made by someone asleep. Its distinctive feature is intensity: ordinary snoring can be described as light or quiet, whereas a stentor suggests a deep, resonant, or noisy interruption of the silence. The word is also occasionally used for a person who snores loudly. In medicine, stertorous breathing is a recognized descriptive term for noisy breathing associated with airway obstruction or impaired consciousness. Outside clinical writing, the word has a somewhat formal or literary tone, but its vivid sound and strong connotations make it especially effective when describing a sleeper who is unmistakably audible. Stentor and its derivative stertorous preserve the same idea, with stertorous describing breathing marked by snoring or noisy, labored respiration.
nounA loud snore, or the sound of loud, labored breathing, especially during sleep. The word may also refer to a person who snores loudly.
- A loud snore or the sound of loud, labored breathing during sleep.
- A person who sleeps or breathes loudly and heavily.
"A sudden stertor from the sofa announced that he had fallen asleep."
"His loud stertor filled the quiet room."
"The doctor listened for stertorous breathing as she examined the patient."
The plural is uncommon, occurring chiefly when individual loud snores are being referred to.
"Loud stertors echoed through the cabin."
Stertor comes from Latin and originally conveyed the noisy breathing of a sleeper; its exaggerated sound makes the word both precise and memorable.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stertor come from?
Stetor derives from Latin stertor, a word for snoring or a loud sleeper, from stertō, meaning “to snore.” Latin stertō belongs to a family of related words associated with noisy breathing, including forms connected with sneezing. English borrowed the word in the 17th century, and it later developed the adjective stertorous.
Related word forms
How stertor is actually used
Relatively formal and literary in general use, though it is common in medical and descriptive contexts. It emphasizes the noise or strenuous quality of breathing rather than merely the presence of breathing.