Dyslectic

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to or affected by dyslexia, a condition that makes reading and spelling difficult despite normal intelligence
2. Describing a person who has trouble reading, writing or spelling because of a neurological difference in language processing
3. Characterizing someone whose brain handles written language differently, causing persistent difficulty with letters and words

Etymology: "Dyslectic" is an alternative form of "dyslexic," and the two share a single ancestry. Both come from the Greek prefix "dys-", meaning "bad" or "difficult," joined to "lexis," meaning "speech" or "word," with the suffix "-ic" added to form an adjective. Modern English took the root from Greek scientific vocabulary, so the term describes a difficulty with words rather than any clumsiness with speech in general. The two spellings diverged in use. "Dyslexic" is the form that became standard, and "dyslectic" survives as a less common variant with the same meaning. Because the pair differ only in their final syllable, they are a good example of how a single coinage can split into two forms that people use interchangeably.

Synonyms: dyslexic