anosognosia (English)

Where does "anosognosia" come from?

The term anosognosia is derived from a combination of three ancient Greek elements: the prefix 'a-' meaning 'without,' 'noso-' meaning 'disease,' and '-gnosia' meaning 'knowledge.' Combined, these roots describe the psychological condition in which a person is unable to recognize their own illness or physical limitation. By piecing together these Greek components, the word precisely identifies a state of being without knowledge regarding one's own health.

Full etymology tree

• anosognosia (English), 'The inability of a person to recognize his or her own illness or handicap.'
  • compound a- (English), 'Forming verbs with the sense away, up, on, out.'
  • compound noso- (English), 'disease'
  • compound -gnosia (English), 'Synonym of -gnosis.'

Direct ancestors

• a- (English)
• noso- (English)
• -gnosia (English)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris