echolalia

Noun

echolalia (countable and uncountable, plural echolalias)

1. (autism) The involuntary repetitive echoing of words or phrases spoken by another person; either immediate or delayed.
   • Their echolalic responses may be much more extensive than the single words or short phrases that are characteristic of normal echolalia. Thus, a pseudoverbal autistic child may respond to "Do you want a cookie, Jimmy?" with a replication of the very same words.1984, Jon Eisenson, Aphasia and related disorders in children, page 30
   • A child older than 24 months with echolalia as the only language is likely to receive a diagnosis of ASD[.]2026 March, Marcio Moacyr Vasconcelos, Luciana Gonçalves Azevedo Vasconcelos, Adriana Rocha Brito, “Unveiling autism spectrum disorder for the pediatrician”, in Jornal de Pediatria, volume 102...
2. An infant's repetitive imitation of vocal sounds spoken by another person, occurring naturally during childhood development.
3. Any apparently meaningless, repetitious noises, especially voices.
   • There was the boom of a bass drum, and the voice of the orchestra leader rang out suddenly above the echolalia of the garden.1926, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Penguin, published 2000, page 50