<p>Lots of terms live long beyond their etymology, in science and outside. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Etymology</a> is really about <em>history</em> of language, not <em>meaning</em> of language: knowing where a word originated does not tell you how it is actually used now.</p>
<p>For another example, consider <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dinosaur" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;dinosaur&quot; which originated as &quot;terrible lizard&quot;</a>; dinosaurs are of course <em>not</em> lizards, and there is little sense in which they are <em>terrible</em> as a group. That doesn't matter much, though, because the meaning of the word has evolved substantially since it was coined, and it certainly can be used separate of its etymology. In other cases, like the term <a href="https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/54/2/2.28/302975" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;big bang&quot;</a>, the misleading aspects of the term seem to be detrimental to understanding by a lay audience, yet that term persists as well.</p>
<p>I think &quot;schizophrenia&quot; is more like &quot;dinosaur&quot;. I don't think that many people who use the word &quot;schizophrenia&quot; are mentally breaking it up into its Greek origins to describe a split mind, they're using it to describe a particular psychiatric condition with all the aspects and variations learned since the term was coined. Renaming schizophrenia would require that everyone who uses the new term also needs to know the old term, because every paper, textbook, medical chart, etc, from before that change will use the old term. There is a lot of inertia to language.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean it's impossible to rename a disorder. For example, there has been more movement towards renaming psychological disorders that come to have derogatory meanings, for example the old term &quot;mental retardation&quot; is rarely used now except in old texts. Clinicians need to be able to communicate in medical terms with their patients and their parents. There certainly are some movements to rename schizophrenia, but they seem to come primarily from <em>this</em> perspective of stigma, rather than one of etymology. For example:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6999022/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Gaebel, W., &amp; Kerst, A. (2019). The debate about renaming schizophrenia: a new name would not resolve the stigma. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 28(3), 258-261.</a></p>
<p>My understanding is that in places where schizophrenia has been renamed that you give as examples, renaming has occurred because the term used in those languages had a modern, misleading meaning in those languages. It would be like if the English term were precisely &quot;split mind disorder&quot; or something like that. Modern speakers don't use the Greek elements of the word schizophrenia independently. Some other words may share similar roots, but it's just not familiar to an ordinary speaker. If they do know the meaning of &quot;schizo&quot; or &quot;phrenia&quot;, it's most likely because they read a textbook or article about the origins of the term schizophrenia, or one of a few other handful of medical terms (&quot;phrenic&quot; comes up occasionally in anatomy; &quot;schizo&quot; shows up elsewhere in psychology/psychiatry).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-04T17:05:55.267Z
I wouldn't say the term needs changing, I was trying to understand if this terminology has any baring in modern interpretations of the disorder (and how), as well as what could be better suited words that describe it technically. But I understand I misspoke with the title of my question.
weg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-04T19:03:46.583Z
@weg Ultimately words only mean what meaning we assign to them.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-03T19:40:47.647Z
2022-06-03T19:40:47.647Z
Bryan Krause
<blockquote>
<p>Schizo = Split<br />
Phrenia = Mind<br />
The word schizophrenia translates as splitting of the mind, its use was intended to describe the separation of function between personality, thinking, memory, and perception.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Japan changed this disorder's name to <code>integration disorder</code> in 2002,
and South Korea changed it to <code>attunement disorder</code> in 2012.
Does splitting of the mind describe the disorder appropriately enough to be used as the medical term, and how so? How would the aforementioned functions be separated in schizophrenics?</p>

<schizophrenia><analysis><terminology>
Why Is It Still Called Schizophrenia?
weg
# Why Is It Still Called Schizophrenia?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-03)

> Schizo = Split  
> Phrenia = Mind  
> The word schizophrenia translates as splitting of the mind, its use was intended to describe the separation of function between personality, thinking, memory, and perception.

Japan changed this disorder's name to `integration disorder` in 2002,
and South Korea changed it to `attunement disorder` in 2012.
Does splitting of the mind describe the disorder appropriately enough to be used as the medical term, and how so? How would the aforementioned functions be separated in schizophrenics?

**Tags:** schizophrenia, analysis, terminology


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-06-03. Score: 2

Lots of terms live long beyond their etymology, in science and outside. [Etymology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology) is really about *history* of language, not *meaning* of language: knowing where a word originated does not tell you how it is actually used now.

For another example, consider ["dinosaur" which originated as "terrible lizard"](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dinosaur); dinosaurs are of course *not* lizards, and there is little sense in which they are *terrible* as a group. That doesn't matter much, though, because the meaning of the word has evolved substantially since it was coined, and it certainly can be used separate of its etymology. In other cases, like the term ["big bang"](https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/54/2/2.28/302975), the misleading aspects of the term seem to be detrimental to understanding by a lay audience, yet that term persists as well.

I think "schizophrenia" is more like "dinosaur". I don't think that many people who use the word "schizophrenia" are mentally breaking it up into its Greek origins to describe a split mind, they're using it to describe a particular psychiatric condition with all the aspects and variations learned since the term was coined. Renaming schizophrenia would require that everyone who uses the new term also needs to know the old term, because every paper, textbook, medical chart, etc, from before that change will use the old term. There is a lot of inertia to language.

That doesn't mean it's impossible to rename a disorder. For example, there has been more movement towards renaming psychological disorders that come to have derogatory meanings, for example the old term "mental retardation" is rarely used now except in old texts. Clinicians need to be able to communicate in medical terms with their patients and their parents. There certainly are some movements to rename schizophrenia, but they seem to come primarily from *this* perspective of stigma, rather than one of etymology. For example:

[Gaebel, W., & Kerst, A. (2019). The debate about renaming schizophrenia: a new name would not resolve the stigma. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 28(3), 258-261.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6999022/)

My understanding is that in places where schizophrenia has been renamed that you give as examples, renaming has occurred because the term used in those languages had a modern, misleading meaning in those languages. It would be like if the English term were precisely "split mind disorder" or something like that. Modern speakers don't use the Greek elements of the word schizophrenia independently. Some other words may share similar roots, but it's just not familiar to an ordinary speaker. If they do know the meaning of "schizo" or "phrenia", it's most likely because they read a textbook or article about the origins of the term schizophrenia, or one of a few other handful of medical terms ("phrenic" comes up occasionally in anatomy; "schizo" shows up elsewhere in psychology/psychiatry).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I wouldn't say the term needs changing, I was trying to understand if this terminology has any baring in modern interpretations of the disorder (and how), as well as what could be better suited words that describe it technically. But I understand I misspoke with the title of my question.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Ultimately words only mean what meaning we assign to them.  

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