ElderSpeak
A Thesaurus or Compendium of Words Related to Old Age
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prosopagnosis (prōs"sō-pan-ōs’siss) n. loss of memory for faces, inability to recognize familiar faces, face blindness. Can result from old age or brain injury. (A book on the topic and related ones is “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” by Oliver Sacks.) [< g="" prosopon="" face,="" mask,="" person,="">< pros-="" near="" +="" opon="" face="" +="" ops="" eye,="" +="" agnosia="" ignorance="">< a-, privative pref., not, without, + gnosis knowledge, investigation]. n., alt., prosopagnosia. n. prosopagnosiac = one who has lost memory for, can't recognize, faces. (a prosopagnosiac’s motto might be “i don’t take people at face value.”) adj. prosopagnostic (-pan-ōs’tik). syn. = prosopolethy, q.v. see memory. see role. a-,="" privative="" pref.,="" not,="" without,="" +="" gnosis="" knowledge,="" investigation].="" n.,="" alt.,="" prosopagnosia.="" n.="" prosopagnosiac="one" who="" has="" lost="" memory="" for,="" can't="" recognize,="" faces.="" (a="" prosopagnosiac’s="" motto="" might="" be="" “i="" don’t="" take="" people="" at="" face="" value.”)="" adj.="" prosopagnostic="" (-pan-ōs’tik).="" syn.="prosopolethy," q.v.="" see="" memory.="" see="">
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About the Book
There are many words relating to old age, aging, and the elderly, and this compendium of words seeks to help you understand almost two thousand of them.
Most of these words are unusual, rare, obsolete, archaic, wonderful, marvelous, arcane, and even preposterous. All of them apply to the aged, a group that makes up an increasing portion of the population—particularly in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Here are just a few of the interesting words you’ll learn:
• Cenotaph: a monument erected as a memorial to a dead person or dead people buried elsewhere, especially those killed fighting a war • Lethonomia: a tendency to forget, or inability to recall, names • Oligoria: disinterest in former friends or hobbiesListed alphabetically with pronunciation keys, the words are categorized under forty-eight headings. For example, in the “end-of-life” category, you’ll find the word feuillemorte, which is the wan, yellow color of death. Under “retirement,” you’ll find ecesis, which is the acclimatization to retirement, and Opagefaengris, a prison for retired male criminals in Singen, Germany.
Boost your vocabulary, indulge in a love of language, and improve the way you communicate with seniors and medical professionals. It starts with learning ElderSpeak.
About the Author
James L. Reynolds, MD, is a retired pediatric cardiologist. He has harbored a longtime interest in words, particularly those that are unusual, rare, classical, obsolete, marvelous, or exotic. This avocation has led recently to the particular pursuit of words relating to aging, old age, and the elderly. ElderSpeak is the culmination of this interest. He currently lives in Louisiana.