debilism
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A hereditary condition characterized by low intelligence in which one can understand words but not abstract concepts.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Psychological examinations Lower intelligence levels predominated in group B (in 5 out of 7 persons examined, including debilism in 2, and mental retardation in 3)."
- "- Type 1: low intelligence [the ability of distinguishing various stimuli], low docility [the ability of memorizing any stimuli], low talent [the ability of associating some particular stimuli]. Such type is called "debilism"."
- "The old psychiatrists of Eastern Europe also included in their taxonomy "debilism" or "salon debils". This is a qualitative anomaly understood as hereditary and somewhat similar to schizoidia. Such individuals were generally decent, but marked by flat, coaxing talkativeness and an inability to understand any sort of serious matter."
- "Among the diseases eligible for such surgical intervention [i.e. sterilization], the following medical conditions were included: debilism, schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder, […]"
Etymology
Compare Polish debilizm and Russian дебилизм (debilizm), ultimately from Latin debilis (“weak; disabled”). By surface analysis, debile + -ism.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: debilis