A
neologism (
IPA /ni'?l??d??z?m/; from Greek
neo 'new' +
logos 'word') is a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language. Neologisms are often directly attributable to a specific person, publication, period, or event. The term
neologism was coined in 1803.
[1]In psychiatry, the term neologism is used to describe the use of words that only have meaning to the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning. This is considered normal in children, but a symptom of thought disorder (indicative of a psychotic mental illness, such as schizophrenia) in adults.[2]
People with autism also may create neologisms.[3]
Use of neologisms may also be related to aphasia acquired after brain damage resulting from a stroke or head injury.[4]
