Where does “dementia” come from?
Dementia comes from Latin dementia, a noun formed with the suffix -ia from Latin demens, meaning "out of one's mind," itself composed of de- and mens.
dementia (English): A progressive decline in cognitive function due...
Definitions
- A progressive decline in cognitive function due...
Ancestry of “dementia”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | dēmentia | madness, insanity |
| 2 | Latin | dēmēns | out of one’s mind or senses: mad, raving, insane, crazy; more generally: foolish, reckless, distracted, infatuated |
| 3 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 4 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 5 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 6 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |