dementia English · revision 39786

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1598, J. Mosan, translation of C. Wirsung, Praxis Medicinae|origins=la dēmēns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /dɪˈmɛnʃə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|dēmentia|t=madness, insanity, folly]],^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from the stem of [[m|la|dēmēns|t=mad, out of one's mind]], the source of [[dement]], with the abstract noun suffix [[m|la|-ia]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The Latin adjective is formed from the phrase [[m|la|dē mente|t=out of the mind]].^(Etymonline) English had earlier used [[m|en|demency]], from [[m|fr|démence]], from the 1520s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Insanity, especially affecting thought and judgement: 1598, in J. Mosan's translation of C. Wirsung's ''Praxis Medicinae'', according to the revised OED.^(OED 2026) Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1806,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford to the late 18th century,^(ODE 2010)^(SOED 2002) and Dictionary.com to 1800–10.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word passed from general madness to a medical term for a progressive decline of memory and reasoning caused by disease of the brain.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) ''Senile dementia'', the failure of mind in old age, is recorded from 1822.^(Etymonline) ''Dementia praecox'', a Modern Latin name for what is now called schizophrenia, was used in English from 1899, after German (1891) and [[m|fr|démence précoce]] (1857).^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) A general sense, loss of judgement or wild foolishness, is recorded from 1846.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1520s – ''demency'', from French.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1598 – insanity.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1806 – a low condition of mental function.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1822 – ''senile dementia''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1846 – foolishness, loss of judgement.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1899 – ''dementia praecox''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # (medicine) A usually progressive condition, such as [[Alzheimer's disease]], in which the brain's [[memory]], reasoning and other [[cognitive]] abilities decline.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Madness or folly; a complete loss of judgement.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[demential]]

+ * [[dementia praecox]]

+ * [[senile dementia]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amentia]]

+ * [[demented]]

+ * [[dement]]

+ * [[mental]]

+ * [[mind]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}