Autism or hautism? An etymological approach

Abstract

The word “autism” was first used at the beginning of the 20th century by the psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler. Autism was derived from the ancient Greek word «εαυτός» (meaning self ) and the suffix «-ισμος» (-ism). This short report investigates whether the formation of the word in English was conducted using the correct rules regarding the transformation of Greek words into foreign languages. Our investigation showed that the word «εαυτός» is derived from the reflexive pronoun «έαυτού» (pronounced with rough breathing) of ancient Greek. When they are transcribed into English, the ancient Greek words with rough breathing are written with the first letter “Η” (e.g., history, hero). In those without rough breathing, the “H” is absent (e.g., anatomy). Our conclusion is that the correct form of the derived term would be the word “hautism” rather than the currently used “autism”. If written in such a way, the term would state the action of reflexion, which is the main characteristic of “autism”. © Athens Medical Society.