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paranoïde

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Etymology and origin of the French word paranoïde

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1900 J. Séglas, La démence paranoïde More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek παράνοια

Pronunciation

  • /pa.ʁa.nɔ.id/[1]

Forms

paranoïde (plural paranoïdes)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French paranoïa + -oïde.[2][3][4] The suffix goes back to Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos, “form, appearance”).[5] The Grand Robert attributes the term to Kraepelin, in 1892.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1900, in démence paranoïde, the title of a paper by J. Séglas in the Annales médico-psychologiques.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Psychiatry used the adjective for disorders that recall paranoïa but, with features of schizophrenia and a course towards dementia, differ from it.[2] It was used as a noun for the patients from 1910, by G. Ballet.[2][6] The Grand Robert finds it in 1904 and the GLLF only in 1946, in Baruk;[4][5][7] the GLLF dates the psychoanalytic position paranoïde to 1968.[5] Larousse also gives the looser sense “inclined to paranoia, feeling persecuted”.[8]

English paranoid, formed from paranoia with -oid, is recorded in 1901.[9]

Timeline

  • 1892 – Kraepelin introduces the term, according to the Grand Robert.[4]
  • 1900 – Séglas writes on la démence paranoïde.[2]
  • 1901 – English paranoid is recorded.[9]
  • 1910 – Used as a noun by G. Ballet.[2]
  • 1968 – Position paranoïde is recorded in psychoanalysis.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (psychiatry) Of a psychosis or delusion: poorly structured and recalling paranoïa, a form of schizophrenia: démence paranoïde.[2][3][10][8]
  2. Inclined to paranoia, feeling persecuted.[8]
  3. (psychoanalysis) Position paranoïde: the infant's relation to an object in which aggressive and sexual drives coexist and the object is both good and bad.[5]

Noun

  1. (psychiatry) A person suffering from such a disorder.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Paranoïde.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/parano%C3%AFde. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·