amentia

[ey-men-shuh, uh-men-]

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noun Psychiatry.

lack of intellectual development; imbecility; severe mental retardation.

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. 2019

Related Words for amentia

dementia

Examples from the Web for amentia

Historical Examples of amentia

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

severe mental deficiency, usually congenitalCompare dementia

Word Origin for amentia

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

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

amentia in Medicine

amentia

[ā-mĕn′shə, ə-mĕn′-]

n.

Insufficient mental development or functioning.