aphasia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈfeɪzɪə/, /əˈfeɪʒə/^[1]

Etymology

It is from New Latin aphasia,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ἀφασία (aphasía, “speechlessness”),^{[5][2][3][4][6]} from a- “without” and phásis “utterance”, from phánai “to speak”.^[5][2][3][6] French aphasie was known by 1826, but the form taken into English was the Latin one.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Loss of the ability to speak or to understand language, caused by disease or injury of the brain (1867).^[2][3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Frederic Bateman wrote in 1868 that the condition was then much discussed, the French Academy having devoted several sessions to it in 1865.^[3] The meaning has stayed the same.^[5][4][7]

Timeline

• 1826 – French aphasie.^[2]
• 1867 – aphasia in English.^[2][3][4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Partial or total loss of the ability to express ideas in words or to understand spoken or written language, caused by damage to the brain.

Word family

• aphasiac
• aphasic
• Wernicke's aphasia
• Broca's aphasia
• motor aphasia

Related words

• dysphasia
• -phasia

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press