# dementia praecox

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. schizophrenia

## Etymology
A Latin phrase coined by Arnold Pick in 1891, first used in German and later adopted into English. From the Latin dēmentia (“madness; insanity”) + praecox (“premature; untimely”, whence English precocious), together meaning “untimely madness” or “premature dementia”. Here, dēmentia carries the connotation of senile dementia.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dementia-praecox