echolalia
/ˌɛkoʊˈleɪliə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.43 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The involuntary repetitive echoing of words or phrases spoken by another person; either immediate or delayed.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Their echolalic responses may be much more extensive than the single words or short phrases that are characteristic of normal echolalia. Thus, a pseudoverbal autistic child may respond to "Do you want a cookie, Jimmy?" with a replication of the very same words."
- "A child older than 24 months with echolalia as the only language is likely to receive a diagnosis of ASD[.]"
- "There was the boom of a bass drum, and the voice of the orchestra leader rang out suddenly above the echolalia of the garden."
Etymology
From echo- + -lalia; echo- ultimately from Ancient Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ, “reflected sound, echo”), -lalia from λαλιά (laliá, “talk, chat”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɛkoʊˈleɪliə/
- British English: /ˌɛkə(ʊ)ˈleɪlɪə/