agoraphobia

agoraphobia
\ \ [19] Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces or, more generally, of simply being out of doors – is first referred to in an 1873 issue of the Journal of Mental Science; this attributes the term to Dr C Westphal, and gives his definition of it as ‘the fear of squares or open places’. This would be literally true, since the first element in the word represents Greek agoráopen space, typically a market place, used for public assemblies’ (the most celebrated in the ancient world was the Agora in Athens, rivalled only by the Forum in Rome). The word agorá came from ageireinassemble’, which is related to Latin grexflock’, the source of English gregarious. Agoraphobia was not the first of the -phobias. That honour goes to hydrophobia in the mid 16th century. But that was an isolated example, and the surge of compounds based on Greek phóbosfear’ really starts in the 19th century. At first it was used for symptoms of physical illness (photophobiaabnormal sensitivity to light’ 1799), for aversions to other nationalities (Gallophobia 1803; the synonymous Francophobia does not appear until 1887), and for facetious formations (dustophobia, Robert Southey, 1824), and the range of specialized psychological terms familiar today does not begin to appear until the last quarter of the century (CLAUSTROPHOBIA 1879, acrophobiafear of heights’ from Greek akrostopmost’ – see ACROBAT – 1892).
\ \ Cf.AGGREGATE, ALLEGORY, GREGARIOUS, SEGREGATE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • agoraphobia — (n.) fear of open spaces, 1873, from Ger. Agorophobie, coined 1871 by Berlin psychiatrist Carl Westphal (1833 1890) from Gk. agora open space (see AGORA (Cf. agora)) + phobia fear (see PHOBIA (Cf. phobia)). Related: Agoraphobe; agoraphobic …   Etymology dictionary

  • agoraphobia — ► NOUN ▪ irrational fear of open or public places. DERIVATIVES agoraphobic adjective & noun. ORIGIN from Greek agora marketplace …   English terms dictionary

  • agoraphobia — [ag΄ər ə fō′bē ə; ] now often [ ə gôr΄əfō′bē ə] n. [ AGORA1 + PHOBIA] an abnormal fear of being in open or public places agoraphobic adj., n …   English World dictionary

  • Agoraphobia — DiseaseDisorder infobox Name = Agoraphobia ICD10 = F40.00 Without panic disorder, F40.01 With panic disorder ICD9 = ICD9|300.22 Without panic disorder, ICD9|300.21 With panic disorder Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder, often precipitated by the… …   Wikipedia

  • Agoraphobia — An abnormal and persistent fear of public places or open areas, especially those from which escape could be difficult or help not immediately accessible. Persons with agoraphobia frequently also have panic disorder. People with agoraphobia… …   Medical dictionary

  • agoraphobia — [19] Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces or, more generally, of simply being out of doors – is first referred to in an 1873 issue of the Journal of Mental Science; this attributes the term to Dr C Westphal, and gives his definition of it as ‘the… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • agoraphobia — [[t]æ̱gərəfo͟ʊbiə[/t]] N UNCOUNT Agoraphobia is the fear of open or public places …   English dictionary

  • Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder — Agoraphobia Without a History of Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme fear of experiencing panic symptoms, but with an absence of any underlying history of panic attacks. Agoraphobia typically develops as a result of… …   Wikipedia

  • Agoraphobia (song) — Single infobox Name = Agoraphobia Artist = Incubus from Album = A Crow Left of the Murder... Released = 2005 Format = CD Genre = Alternative rock Length = 3:52 Label = Epic Records Last single = Talk Shows on Mute (2004) This single = Agoraphobia …   Wikipedia

  • agoraphobia without history of panic disorder — [DSM IV] agoraphobia with fear of having an attack of one or only a few incapacitating or embarrassing symptoms, which the person may or may not have had in the past, rather than a full panic attack …   Medical dictionary

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