amentia

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

noun

, Psychiatry.

1. (no longer in technical use) intellectual disability.

amentia

/ əˈmɛnʃə /

noun

1. severe mental deficiency, usually congenital Compare dementia

Word History and Origins

Origin of amentia¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin, equivalent to āment- ( ament ² ) + -ia noun suffix ( -ia )

Word History and Origins

Origin of amentia¹

C14: from Latin: insanity, from āmēns mad, from mēns mind

Example Sentences

The former are labouring under dementia, not amentia.

From Project Gutenberg

Illegitimacy is, however, the larger problem in rural amentia.

From Project Gutenberg

Cretinism is a form of amentia, which is endemic in certain districts, especially in some of the valleys of Switzerland, Savoy, and France.

From Project Gutenberg

Acute miliary tuberculosis may produce the impression of a general paresis or of an amentia in Meynert's sense.

From Project Gutenberg

In dementia the mental aberration does not occur until the mind has become fully developed, thus differing from amentia, which is congenital or comes on very early in life.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cognitive impairment
• debilitation
• impairment
• incapacitation
• intellectual disability
• limitation
• restriction