Synesthetes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who experience a blending of sensory perceptions, such as seeing sounds or tasting colors
2. People who possess a neurological condition that allows them to perceive stimuli through multiple senses simultaneously
3. Persons who interpret a single sensory input in terms of another sense, leading to unique sensory experiences and connections

Etymology: "Synesthetes" is the plural of "synesthete," so it is the form of a word that names a person who experiences synesthesia, the blending of senses in which a sound might trigger a colour or a word might carry a taste. The plural simply adds the usual English "-s" to the singular, which is the form to look at for origins. The singular "synesthete" is built from Greek roots in the same way as "synesthesia," the condition itself. It combines "syn-," meaning "together" or "with," and "aisthesis," meaning "perception" or "feeling," the same root that gives English "anesthesia" its sense of a lost or dulled feeling. A synesthete, then, is someone whose perceptions are "perceived together" across senses that normally operate separately.