Logorrhea

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌlɒ.ɡəˈɹɪ.ə/

Definitions

1. A communication disorder defined by incessant verbosity and a lack of coherence in speech
2. A linguistic condition where an individual experiences overwhelming urges to speak excessively without clear relevance
3. A speech condition characterized by endless talking with little meaningful content

Etymology: Logorrhea is a modern coinage built from two Greek pieces. "Logo-" comes from "lógos", meaning word, speech or utterance, which in turn comes from "légō", "to say" or "to gather". The second half, "-rrhea", comes from "rhoía", meaning a flow or flux, from "rhéō", "to flow". Put together, the term literally describes a flow of words. The ending was not invented from scratch. English had already borrowed the "-rrhea" pattern in "diarrhea", and the new word was probably modelled on that existing term, so a medical-sounding suffix was attached to a word-related prefix. The result describes talk that pours out uncontrollably rather than talk that is merely plentiful. The Greek roots are ancient, but the compound itself is a later English formation. Its meaning is a metaphor from bodily flow, which is why the word carries a faintly clinical tone even when used of chatty people.