anomia

American  

[uh-noh-mee-uh] / əˈnoʊ mi ə /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

1. the inability to name objects or to recognize the written or spoken names of objects.

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Etymology

Origin of anomia

< New Latin, irregular < Greek a- a- ⁶ + Latin nōm ( en ) name + -ia -ia

Explanation

Anomia is a brain disorder that makes it hard to remember the names of people and objects. Anomia can sometimes be a symptom of a tumor or stroke. Anomia is a very specific kind of memory loss, which makes sufferers remember people but forget their names, or know what something is but be unable to come up with what it's called. It's usually caused by some brain trauma, like an accident or cancer. Although there is a word spelled the same way in Greek, anomia is formed from two Latin roots, a-, "without," and nomen, "name."

Example Sentences

The Hebrew word wickedness is translated by the Septuagint with “ανομια” anomia.

From Studies in Zechariah by Gaebelein, Arno C.