Aphasiac

/əˈfeɪziæk/ noun

Definition

A person suffering from aphasia, a language disorder resulting from brain damage that affects speech comprehension or production.

Etymology

From Greek 'aphasia' (loss of speech), composed of 'a-' (without) and 'phasis' (speech), with the suffix '-ac' denoting a person with a condition. The medical terminology solidified in the 19th century with neurology's advancement.

Kelly Says

An aphasiac might be a brilliant mathematician who suddenly can't remember the word for 'cat' after a stroke, or a fluent speaker who can no longer form sentences—aphasia is cruelly selective about what language abilities it takes! Understanding aphasiacs taught neuroscientists that language isn't one unified ability but dozens of separate brain systems.

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