abulia

borrowed from New Latin, probably borrowed from Greek aboulía “thoughtlessness, irresolution, indecision,” derivative of áboulos “inconsiderate, ill-advised,” from a- ²a- + -boulos, adjective derivative of boulḗ “will” — more at ¹boule ◆Term introduced by the German physician Johann Christian August Heinroth (1773-1843), in Lehrbuch der Störungen des Seelenlebens (Leipzig: Vogel, 1818), pt. 1, p. 347: “Formen der dritten Gattung: Willenlosigkeit; ([Greek letters] aboulia) §231 Erste Form: reine Willenlosigkeit (Abulia simplex)” [“Forms of the first variety: will-lessness; (aboulia) §231 First form: pure will-lessness (Abulia simplex)”]. Heinroth's citation of the Greek form suggests that he borrowed the word from Ancient Greek, though he could as likely have coined it on his own from the Greek elements, seeing that the word looks like a translation of German Willenlosigkeit.

First Known Use: 1847