Münchausen syndrome

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun

A factitious (artificial) mental disorder in which a person feigns illness or psychological trauma in order to garner attention or sympathy.

Word forms

Münchausen syndrome Münchausen syndromes Munchausen syndrome Münchhausen syndrome Munchhausen syndrome Munchausen's syndrome

Etymology

From the German name Münchhausen, after the fantastical tales related by the fictional Baron Munchausen (sic) in Rudolf Erich Raspe's English-language novel Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia (1785). The character was loosely based on Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen (1720–1797).

Synonyms

factitious disorder factitious disorder imposed on self

Related words

Munchausenism

Derived words

Munchausen by Internet Münchausen syndrome by proxy

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

Back to search All on M Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary