Ancient Greek dictionary · noun

ψυχή

The animating principle of a human or animal body, vital spirit, soul, life (the animating principle of life).

Transliteration: psyche

Dictionary forms: ψῡχή, ψῡχῆς

Inflection: first declension

Meaning and definitions

1. The animating principle of a human or animal body, vital spirit, soul, life (the animating principle of life).
2. Life-breath, lifeblood (‘the animating principle of life’ in corporeal interpretation).
3. Animating principle in primary substances, the source of life and consciousness.
4. A person
5. Animate existence, viewed as a possession, one’s life.
6. The spirit or soul thought of as distinct from the body and leaving it at death (the immortal part of a person).

Connected roots

• psych-

  soul, mind

Explore the word family

These words share a recorded root connection. A shared root is a learning clue; it does not establish every step in a word’s history.

• psychology

  the scientific study of the human mind and its functions

• psychiatric

  Of, or relating to, psychiatry.

• psychiatry

  the study and treatment of mental illness

• psychopath

  a person with a chronic mental disorder marked by antisocial behavior

• psychosis

  A severe mental disorder, sometimes with physical damage to the brain, marked by a deranged personality and a distorted view of reality.

• psychoanalysis

  A family of theories and methods within the field of psychotherapy that work to find connections among patients' unconscious mental processes.

• 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.

Recorded forms

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