Meanings
plural dementiae praecoces · alternative obsolete dementia præcox · alternative dementia precox
- dateduncountableusuallyhuman sciencesschizophrenia
Synonyms & antonyms
nounany of several psychotic disorders characterized by distortions of reality and disturbances of thought and language and withdrawal from social contact
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
A Latin term coined by Arnold Pick in 1891, first used in German and later adopted into English. From the Latin dēmentia (“madness; insanity”) + praecox (“premature; untimely”, whence English precocious), together meaning “untimely madness” or “premature dementia”. Here, dēmentia carries the connotation of senile dementia.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 早發性癡呆 /早发性痴呆
- 早發性癡呆 /早发性痴呆 (zǎofāxìng chīdāi)dated psychiatric diagnosis
Russian деме́нция пре́кокс, ра́ннее слабоу́мие
- деме́нция пре́кокс (deméncija prékoks)dated psychiatric diagnosis
- ра́ннее слабоу́мие (ránneje slaboúmije)dated psychiatric diagnosis
Cite this entry
dementia praecox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dementia%20praecox
“dementia praecox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dementia%20praecox. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dementia praecox,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dementia%20praecox.
Source: dementia praecox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.