Feeblemindedness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A mental state marked by diminished intellectual capacity and poor reasoning skills
2. A condition whereby cognitive abilities are significantly impaired, leading to struggles in understanding and decision-making
3. A state characterized by deficient intellectual ability and weak cognitive function

Etymology: "Feeblemindedness" is simply "feebleminded" with the suffix "-ness" added, and "feebleminded" itself is a compound of "feeble" and "minded." "Feeble" came into English from Anglo-Norman and Old French "feble," which descends from Latin "flebilis," meaning "lamentable" or "deserving of tears," a sense that gradually weakened toward "weak" over the centuries. "Minded" comes from the Old English "gemynd," tied to "mind," so "feebleminded" literally describes a mind that is weak. The suffix "-ness" is an Old English noun-forming ending that attaches to adjectives to name a state or quality, as in "kindness" or "darkness." Its addition here turns the adjective into a noun for the condition itself, so the word names a state of impaired mental capacity rather than a person.

Synonyms: mental deficiency, imbecility