senile

[see-nahyl, -nil, sen-ahyl] Origin

se·nile

[see-nahyl, -nil, sen-ahyl]
adjective
1.
showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, especially short-term memory and alertness, as a result of old age or disease.
2.
of or belonging to old age or aged persons; gerontological; geriatric.
3.
Physical Geography. (of topographical features) having been reduced by erosion to a featureless plain that stands everywhere at base level. Compare peneplain.
noun
4.
a senile person.

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Senile is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

Origin:
1655–65; < Latin senīlis old, equivalent to sen(ex) old man (akin to senior) + -īlis -ile

un·se·nile, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
senile (ˈsiːnaɪl)
 
adj
1.  of, relating to, or characteristic of old age
2.  mentally or physically weak or infirm on account of old age
3.  See old (of land forms or rivers) at an advanced stage in the cycle of erosion
 
[C17: from Latin senīlis, from senex an old man]
 
'senilely
 
adv
 
senility
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

senile
1661, "suited to old age," from Fr. sénile, from L. senilis "of old age," from senex (gen. senis) "old, old man," from PIE base *sen- "old" (cf. Skt. sanah "old;" Avestan hana- "old;" O.Pers. hanata- "old age, lapse of time;" Armenian hin "old;" Gk. enos "old, of last year;" Lith. senas "old,"
EXPAND
senis "an old man;" Goth. sineigs "old" (used only of persons), sinistra "elder, senior;" O.N. sina "dry standing grass from the previous year;" O.Ir. sen, O.Welsh hen "old"). Meaning "weak or infirm from age" is first attested 1848.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

senile se·nile (sē'nīl', sěn'īl')
adj.

  1. Relating to, characteristic of, or resulting from old age.

  2. Exhibiting the symptoms of senility, as impaired memory or the inability to perform certain mental tasks.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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