Amnesia

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌæmˈniʒə/

Definitions

1. Loss of memory, either partial or complete, that may result from injury, disease, psychological trauma, or other medical conditions
2. A condition marked by partial or total inability to recall past events or personal identity, often caused by brain injury, illness, or psychological disturbance
3. A state characterized by the inability to remember information or experiences from the past

Etymology: The Greek word "amnesia" was built from a negation and a verb meaning to remember. The prefix is the alpha privative, the same "a-" that turns "theist" into "atheist," so the word literally means "not-remembering." The verb underneath, "mimnēskō," meant to remind or to remember, and it is related to "mnēmē," memory, which gives English "mnemonic." The word reached modern English through modified Latin, the scientific Latin used by physicians and naturalists, and it was a deliberate medical coinage rather than an everyday word the Greeks used for illness. Ancient Greek writers used the root for forgetting in a general sense, but the specific medical term belongs to a much later period of European science.

Synonyms: forgetfulness, memory loss