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dementia praecox

American  
[dih-men-shuh pree-koks] / dɪˈmɛn ʃə ˈpri kɒks /

noun

Psychiatry.
  1. (no longer in technical use) schizophrenia.


dementia praecox British  
/ ˈpriːkɒks /

noun

  1. a former name for schizophrenia

"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

Etymology

Origin of dementia praecox

First recorded in 1895–1900; from New Latin: “precocious dementia”


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Aged 57, this man was diagnosed dementia praecox, paranoid, onset “more than 10 years ago.”

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 27, 2015

Their collection contains brain, heart, liver and spleen tissues from about 1,400 autopsies, 95 of which are labeled "dementia praecox," an antiquated diagnosis similar to schizophrenia.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 9, 2012

About 50% of the inmates of U. S. insane asylums are there on account of a deteriorated mental-emotional condition variously called dementia praecox, schizophrenia or split personality.

From Time Magazine Archive

Miss Porter calls the heroine "a terrifying case of dementia praecox"; she is also a first-rate showpiece of American humor.

From Time Magazine Archive

The picture given by the symptoms of dementia praecox, which, moreover, is highly variable, is not exclusively determined by the symptoms.

From A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud

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