Etymology

nootropic

N1O1O1T1R1O1P3I1C3

Today it means: Any substance purported to increase or enhance cognitive abilities. Full definition →

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The story

Coined by Romanian psychologist and chemist Corneliu E. Giurgea in 1972, derived from the Ancient Greek words νόος (nóos, “mind”) and τροπέω (tropéō, “to turn”). By surface analysis, noo(s) + -tropic, literally “mind changing”.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.