n. 1 a sudden involuntary muscular contraction. 2 a sudden convulsive movement or emotion etc. (a spasm of coughing). 3 (usu. foll. by of) colloq. a brief spell of an activity.
[ ME f. OF spasme or L spasmus f. Gk spasmos, spasma f. spao pull ]
SPASM
Meaning of SPASM in English
Concise Oxford English dictionary. Краткий оксфордский словарь английского языка. 2012