alexian.
/əˈlɛksɪə/, U.S. /əˈlɛksiə/ Medicine.
Loss of the ability to comprehend written or printed language.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > impairment of mental powers > dyslexia, aphasia, or dyscalculia
aphemia1864
agraphia1867
aphasia1867
asymbolia1874
alexia1875
agraphy1879
amusia1890
anomia1897
dyslexia1917
strephosymbolia1925
acalculia1926
dysgraphia1934
dyscalculia1953
1875 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 20 May 586 The degree to which agraphia (loss of the power of expression in written language) or alexia (loss of comprehension of written language) will occur in connection with these different forms of aphasia depends somewhat upon the previous education and habits of the patient.
1904 E. B. Titchener tr. W. M. Wundt Princ. Physiol. Psychol. I. 305 Destruction of this region produces the peculiar syndrome of ‘alexia’ or ‘word blindness’.
1964 A. V. S. de Reuck & M. O'Connor Disorders Lang. 215 Alexia occurs significantly more often in left-handed people with left-sided lesions than in right-handed people with similar lesions.
2005 O. Sacks in H. Engel Memory Bk. Afterword 240 It became apparent, with further testing, that there were also some visual problems besides the alexia.
Derivatives
aˈlexic adj. of, relating to, or affected with alexia.
ΚΠ
1888 Ophthalmic Rev. 7 290 The authors note also the interesting fact that alexic patients can read printed Arabic figures.
1964 M. Critchley Developmental Dyslexia vii. 45 Aphasic patients who have an alexic difficulty in the comprehension of verbal symbols.
2010 Globe & Mail (Canada) (Nexis) 30 Oct. R27 A Man of Letters describes how Canadian novelist Howard Engel one day woke unable to recognize words because of stroke that rendered him alexic.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1875