Asperger syndrome

[as-per-ger sin-drohm, -druhm]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. (no longer in clinical use) a developmental disability characterized by repetitive behaviors, differences in understanding social interactions, and often, a narrow set of interests, but not involving delayed development of linguistic and cognitive abilities: formerly contrasted with autism, but now considered to fall under autism spectrum disorder.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Asperger syndrome¹

First recorded in 1970–75; named after Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (1906–80), who described it in 1944