echolalia
UK[ˌɛkəʊˈleɪlɪə]US[ˌɛkoʊˈleɪliə]
n
the automatic repetition of words or phrases spoken by another person, often a symptom of certain neurological or psychiatric conditions.
Morpheme Breakdown
echo
lalia
echo
lalia
Etymology
the term 'echolalia' is a modern scientific compound, directly assembled from ancient greek components to precisely describe a clinical phenomenon. it combines 'ēkhō', meaning a reflected sound or repetition, with 'lalia', a term for speech or talk. this construction follows a classical pattern where greek roots are reused in medical and psychological terminology to create transparent, descriptive labels. the word's logic is perfectly literal, denoting "echo speech," which directly mirrors the condition's defining characteristic of involuntarily echoing the speech of others.
Analysis
Structure: echo + lalia
echo (from greek ἠχώ (ēkhō), meaning "sound, echo"; functions as the core semantic root). lalia (from greek λαλιά (lalia), meaning "talk, chatter, speech"; functions as a combining form denoting a type of speech).
Examples
the child's echolalia, repeating every question asked of him, was a key sign for the specialist.
echolalia can be immediate, repeating words right after hearing them, or delayed.
while sometimes associated with autism, echolalia can also occur in tourette syndrome and other conditions.