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coprolalia

coprolalia

1 9.9
Repeated uncontrolled use of rude words
  • noun
  • /ˌkɑːprəˈleɪliə/
  • NSFW
: coprolalia
  • Many individuals diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome experience coprolalia, leading them to use socially inappropriate language.

Examples

  • Individuals with coprolalia may involuntarily shout obscene words during social interactions.

  • There might be more involved echophenomena: echolalia (repeating others), palilalia (repeating self), or coprolalia (repeating unacceptable words and obscenities).

    Academic text (1990)
  • And for about half the patients, coprolalia.

    Academic text (1996)
  • "Coprolalia, it seemed, was an odd set of symptoms described as "compulsive swearing" (Merck 1977).

    Academic text (1996)
  • His coprolalia often results in embarrassing moments when he cannot control his speech.

Surface Forms

coprolalia singular
coprolalias plural

Morphology

coprolalia = copro + lalia (opaque) = copro + lalia

The term is formed from specialized Greek combining forms that are not familiar standalone English morphemes, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning.

Etymology

Coprolalia comes from Greek parts copro- meaning 'dung' and -lalia meaning 'to talk'. So it literally means 'dung talk', which helps you remember it describes the involuntary saying of dirty or obscene words without control.