Figurative uses of 'phren' and Grice's aspects of reasoning

Speranza

'Phren' was used in Greek to mean midriff, diagphragm; figuratively, 'heart', and 'mind'.

Despite the origin of the term, from Greek skhizein, meaning "to split", and phrēn, meaning "mind", "schizophrenia" was not coined to signify a "split personality" or "multiple personality disorder" — a condition with which it is often confused in public perception.

Rather, the term "schizophrenia" was coined to mean a "splitting of the mental functions", reflecting the presentation of the illness.