Aphasia

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈfeɪzɪə/

Definitions

1. A condition resulting from brain damage that impairs the ability to communicate through speech, writing, and understanding language
2. An impairment affecting one’s capacity to express and comprehend language, both orally and in written form
3. A language disorder resulting from brain injury that affects the ability to speak, write, and understand language

Etymology: The Greek word "aphasia" meant something close to speechlessness long before anyone used it for a medical condition. It came from "aphatos," meaning "speechless," built from the negating prefix "a-" ("not") and "phasis," meaning "speech." The medical sense arrived much later, when physicians needed a name for patients who had lost the power of language after brain injury. The term passed into European languages through French, which took it as "aphasie." Its use in English is a modern, scientific one: it describes a specific loss of language caused by damage to the brain, not a general silence or refusal to speak. The original Greek idea of simple speechlessness survives in the word's construction, which is visible to anyone who knows that "phasis" is the same root found in words like "emphasis" and "phase" in the sense of appearance.