autoecholalia
|au-to-e-cho-la-li-a|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔːtoʊˌɛkəˈleɪliə/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːtəʊˌɛkəˈleɪlɪə/
self-repeating speech
Etymology
'autoecholalia' originates from Greek elements, specifically 'auto-' (Greek 'αὐτός' meaning 'self') combined with 'echolalia' (from Greek 'ēkhō' meaning 'echo' and 'lalia' meaning 'speech').
'autoecholalia' was formed in modern medical English by combining the prefix 'auto-' with the existing clinical term 'echolalia' (which itself comes from Greek 'ēkhō' + 'lalia'), producing a compound used in neurology and psychiatry.
Initially the component parts meant 'self' + 'echo' + 'speech'; over time the compound came to be used specifically in clinical contexts to denote the repetition of one's own speech.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a form of echolalia in which an individual involuntarily or repetitively repeats their own words or phrases (self-echoing speech), often observed in certain neurodevelopmental or neuropsychiatric conditions.
During the assessment the patient displayed autoecholalia, immediately repeating several of his own sentences after saying them.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/25 05:54