hebephrenia
pronunciation
How to pronounce hebephrenia in British English:
UK [,hiːbɪ'friːnɪə]
How to pronounce hebephrenia in American English:
US [ ,hibə'frinɪə]
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- Noun:
- a form of schizophrenia characterized by severe disintegration of personality including erratic speech and childish mannerisms and bizarre behavior; usually becomes evident during puberty; the most common diagnostic category in mental institutions
Word Origin
- hebephrenia (n.)
- "adolescent insanity," 1886, coined in Modern Latin by German psychiatrist Ewald Escker in 1871, from Greek hebe "youth" (see Hebe (1)) + phrene "mind" (see phreno-) + abstract noun ending -ia.