hyperchromatopsia

noun

An early term for a type of synesthesia; perception of too many colors at once.

Scrabble 34

Meanings

nounhyperchromatopsia (uncountable)
  1. obsoleterareuncountablehuman sciencesAn early term for a type of synesthesia; perception of too many colors at once.

Origin

In 1848, French physician Dr. Charles-Auguste-Édouard Cornaz became the first person to give a name to the condition of synesthesia, at the time naming it hyperchromatopsie (perception de trop de couleurs or hyperchromatopsia (perception of too many colors), because Cornaz viewed the condition as opposite to another known condition of "chromatodysopsie" (or chromatodysopsia, color blindness). This term served as a precursor to what would become hyperesthesia. Dr. Cordaz's term fell out of favor after French physician Dr. Ernest Chabalier coined the term pseudochromesthésie (or pseudochromesthesia), eventually evolving into synesthesia.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hyperchromatopsia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyperchromatopsia

MLA

“hyperchromatopsia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyperchromatopsia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hyperchromatopsia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyperchromatopsia.

Source: hyperchromatopsia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.