Etymologically
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dysfunctional

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /dɪsˈfʌŋkʃ(ə)n(ə)l/, /dɪsˈfʌŋʃ(ə)n(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dysfunction + -al.[2][3][4] The noun combines dys-, from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-, “bad, ill, difficult”),[2][1] with function, from Latin functiō (“a performance, an execution”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Functioning abnormally: Etymonline dates the adjective to 1915.[2] The OED's first record is from 1936, in the Botanical Gazette, for something that disrupts or impairs normal function.[3] The noun dysfunction is recorded from 1914 in Etymonline, but from 1916 in the OED, in a medical dictionary.[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Like dysfunction, which was first used in anatomy and medicine and in sociology by 1949,[2] the adjective began as a term for an organ or part that does not work normally.[3][6] From 1942 it was used chiefly in sociology and psychology of social interactions and family relationships that are disruptively abnormal,[3] and of relationships harmful to the emotional well-being of those in them.[4] Collins now gives the family sense as its second meaning,[6] and the Concise Oxford adds the sense of a person unable to cope with normal social relations.[7] The Historical Thesaurus places it among words for faulty action or operation.[8]

Timeline

  • 1915 – functioning abnormally.[2] The OED's first record is from 1936.[3]
  • 1942 – in sociology and psychology, of relationships or social interactions marked by dysfunction.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not working normally or properly; in medicine, of an organ or part, not functioning normally.[6][7][3]
  2. Of a family or other group, marked by a breakdown of normal or healthy relationships between its members: a dysfunctional household.[6][4][3]
  3. Of a person, unable to cope adequately with normal social relations.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)