Zoanthropy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A psychological condition in which a person believes they can transform or have transformed into an animal
2. a rare delusional state characterized by the conviction of being a non-human creature
3. a mental disorder marked by the identification with or assumption of animal traits and behaviors

Etymology: Zoanthropy is a term from psychiatry for the delusion that one has turned into an animal, and its history is a matter of Greek parts put together. It comes from Latin "zōanthrōpia", which was itself built from Greek roots: "zōion", meaning animal, and "anthrōpos", meaning human being. The English word "zoanthrope" was formed on the same pattern, and "-y" was added to that noun to give the name of the condition. The Greek elements are old, but the combined term is a modern coinage. Its meaning rests on the sense "human" in "anthrōpos", so the word describes a person who appears to be a beast, or who believes so, rather than an animal that is human. Medical writers used the term to name a recognised form of mental illness, and the same idea of a man changing into a wolf or other creature is what gives the word its clinical sense.

Synonyms: therianthropy, zoomorphism