Ancient Greek word root · Mind & Feeling

path-: feeling, suffering, disease

path- is an Ancient Greek root meaning “feeling, suffering, disease”. Learn its variants and explore 12 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: feeling, suffering, disease

Root forms: path-, -pathy, patho-

Source word: πάθος — pain, suffering, death

Word family and examples

• pathetic

  Arousing pity, sympathy, or compassion; exciting pathos.

• sympathy

  feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune

• empathy

  the ability to understand and share the feelings of another

• pathology

  the science of the causes and effects of diseases

• psychopath

  a person with a chronic mental disorder marked by antisocial behavior

• apathy

  lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern

• pathogen

  An agent that can cause disease, especially an infectious microorganism, such as a bacterium, virus, protozoon or fungus.

• telepathy

  The capability to communicate directly by psychic means; the sympathetic affection of one mind by the thoughts, feelings, or emotions of another at a distance, without communication through the ordinary channels of sensation.

• pathogenesis

  The origin and development of a disease.

• antipathy

  a deep-seated feeling of dislike

• encephalopathy

  Any of various conditions affecting the brain.

• psychopathy

  A personality disorder characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits masked by superficial charm and the outward presence of apparent normality. Violent and criminal offenses may be indicative of this disorder.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

Explore this root in the app →