psych

Psych– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning either “psyche” or “psychological.” Psyche denotes “the human soul, spirit, or mind,” while psychological is a related yet distinct term that means “pertaining to psychology, the science of the mind or of mental states.” Psych– is often used in medical and technical terms, especially in psychology.

Psych– comes from Greek psȳchḗ, meaning “breath, spirit, soul, mind.” For more on the meaning of this word in Ancient Greek mythology, read our entry for psyche. The word psyche is at the root of the term psychedelic, which refers to the effect of hallucinogenic drugs.

What are variants of psych-?

Psych– is a variant of psycho–, which loses its –o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about psycho-.

One example of a term you may be familiar with that features the form psych– is psychiatry, “the practice or science of diagnosing and treating mental disorders.”

The psych– part of the word means “mind,” and –iatry means “healing” or “medical practice,” from Greek iātreía. Psychiatry literally means “mind healing” or “the practice of healing the psyche.”

What are some words that use the combining form psych-?

• psychalgia
• psychataxia
• psychiatric
• psychiatrist
• psychic (using the equivalent form of psych– in Greek)
• psychosis (using the equivalent form of psych– in Greek)
• psychotic (using the equivalent form of psych– in Greek)

What are some other forms that psych– may be commonly confused with?

• pseudo-
• psychro-
• py-
• pyro-

The combining form –algia means “pain.” With this in mind, what is the medical condition psychalgia?