This monograph illuminates the origin and development of psychiatric terminology from a linguistic perspective. The study begins with the period around 1800 when the first mental hospitals were founded, then goes on to describe the consolidation of academic psychiatry at the beginning of the 20th century and ends by elucidating the use of psychiatric terminology during the Nazi era. The development of a specialized vocabulary and the kinds and styles of texts specific to psychiatry are presented using case studies derived from the evaluation of extensive source material.