prosopagnosia

[ proh-soh-pag-noh-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh, prahs-uh- ]

noun

, Neurology, Pathology.

1. a neurological disorder, unrelated to impaired vision or memory dysfunction, that makes the recognition of faces extremely difficult or impossible:

   The seemingly healthy woman was diagnosed with prosopagnosia after failing to identify her parents, her husband, herself, or any of her children from a collection of photographs.

prosopagnosia

/ ˌprɒsəpæɡˈnəʊszɪə /

noun

1. an inability to recognize faces

Word History and Origins

Origin of prosopagnosia¹

First recorded in 1950; from Greek prósōp(on) “face, person” ( prosopopoeia ( def ) ) + agnosia ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of prosopagnosia¹

C20: from Greek prosōpon face + agnosia