Lobotomizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of surgically altering brain structure to diminish cognitive and emotional capacities
2. A medical intervention that involves severing neural connections in the brain to influence psychological states and behaviors
3. The process of surgically modifying brain anatomy to reduce mental function and emotional response

Etymology: The verb "lobotomize" is built from "lobotomy" plus the suffix "-ize", so the story of this form is really the story of the procedure's name. "Lobotomy" joins two Greek-derived pieces: "lobos", meaning lobe, as in the lobe of the brain or the ear, and "-tomy", from "temnein", to cut. Taken together, the name describes exactly what the operation did: it cut into the lobes of the brain. The "-ize" ending comes from Greek "-izein" by way of Late Latin "-izare" and Middle French "-iser", and it turns a noun into a verb meaning to subject something to a process or treatment. So "lobotomizing" means performing that cutting on someone. The suffix is the same one found in words like "modernize" or "sterilize", which is why the verb sounds so much like a clinical instruction.

Synonyms: brain surgery, neurosurgery