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senile
6 dictionary results for: senile
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
se·nile 
[see-nahyl, -nil, sen-ahyl] Pronunciation Key
[see-nahyl, -nil, sen-ahyl] Pronunciation Key –adjective
–noun
| 1. | showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, esp. 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. |
| 4. | a senile person. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| se·nile
(sē'nīl', sěn'īl') Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Latin senīlis, from senex, sen-, old; see sen- in Indo-European roots.] se'nile'ly adv. Word History: In earlier writings one finds phrases such as "a senile maturity of judgment" and "green and vigorous senility," demonstrating that senile and senility have not always been burdened with their current negative connotations. These two words are examples of pejoration, the process by which a word's meaning changes for the worse over time. Even though senile (first recorded in 1661) and senility (first recorded in 1778) initially had neutral senses such as "pertaining to old age" (the sense of their Latin source, the adjective senīlis), it is probable that the mental decline that sometimes accompanies old age eventually caused negative senses to predominate. Although recent medical research has demonstrated that the memory and cognitive disorders once designated by senility are often caused by various diseases rather than the aging process itself, it seems unlikely that the word will regain its neutral senses. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
senile
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," 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| senile | |
adjective | |
| mentally or physically infirm with age; "his mother was doddering and frail" [syn: doddering] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
senile se·nile (sē'nīl', sěn'īl')
adj.
- Relating to, characteristic of, or resulting from old age.
- Exhibiting the symptoms of senility, as impaired memory or the inability to perform certain mental tasks.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Senile
Se"nile\, a. [L. senilis, from senex, gen. senis, old, an old man: cf. F. s['e]nile. See Senior.] Of or pertaining to old age; proceeding from, or characteristic of, old age; affected with the infirmities of old age; as, senile weakness. "Senile maturity of judgment." --Boyle. Senile gangrene (Med.), a form of gangrene occuring particularly in old people, and caused usually by insufficient blood supply due to degeneration of the walls of the smaller arteries.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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