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Mar 14, 2024
This week’s theme
Words entering English in the last 30 years

This week’s words
dogfood
dot-connect
crowdfund
neurodivergence
deepfake

neurodivergence
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

neurodivergence

PRONUNCIATION:
(nyoor-oh-duh/dy-VUHR-juhns)

MEANING:
noun: The diversity of brain function, encompassing variations from what is considered typical.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek neuro (nerve) + divergence, from Latin di-/dis- (apart), from Latin vergere (to bend). Earliest documented use: 2013.

NOTES:
Neurodivergence includes conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others. It underscores that there is no single “normal” way the brain functions. The opposite of neurodivergent is neurotypical.

USAGE:
“It shouldn’t have come as such a shock to have my neurodivergence confirmed. I mean, I’d always sensed that I was different from everyone else, but I’d learned to live with it.”
KT Bowes; Her Quiet Legacy; Hakarimata Press; 2021.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (14 Mar 1879-1955)

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