Etymology

schizophrenia

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Today it means: A persistent, often chronic, mental illness characterised by abnormal perception, thinking, behavior and emotion, often marked by delusions. Full definition →

First used 20th c.German Schizophrenie
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The story

  1. German · derived fromSchizophrenie
  2. English todayschizophrenia

From German Schizophrenie (coined by Eugen Bleuler), from Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”) + φρήν (phrḗn, “mind, heart, diaphragm”) + English -ia. A combination of schizo- + -phrenia.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. A persistent, often chronic, mental illness characterised by abnormal perception, thinking, behavior and emotion, often marked by delusions.
  • from 20th c. A condition in which a person is supposed to have several distinct personalities; dissociative identity disorder.
  • from 20th c. Any condition in which disparate or mutually exclusive activities coexist; a lack of decision between options.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.