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amentia

[ey-men-shuh, uh-men-]
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noun Psychiatry.
  1. lack of intellectual development; imbecility; severe mental retardation.
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Origin of amentia

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, equivalent to āment- (see ament2) + -ia -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

dementiaamentia

Examples from the Web for amentia

Historical Examples

  • Amentia shows itself negatively and passively; dementia, positively and energetically.

    Dderlein's Hand-book of Latin Synonymes

    Ludwig Dderlein

British Dictionary definitions for amentia

amentia

noun
  1. severe mental deficiency, usually congenitalCompare dementia
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Word Origin

C14: from Latin: insanity, from āmēns mad, from mēns mind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for amentia

n.

"mental deficiency," late 14c., from Latin amentia "madness," from amentem "mad," from a- "away from" + mentem "mind" (see mind (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
amentia in Medicine

amentia

(ā-mĕn′shə, ə-mĕn′-)
n.
  1. Insufficient mental development or functioning.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.