psyche - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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psyche

Audio Help [sahyk] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object) psyched, psych·ing.

psych¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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psyche

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Psy·che

Audio Help [sahy-kee] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	Classical Mythology. a personification of the soul, which in the form of a beautiful girl was loved by Eros.

2.	(lowercase) the human soul, spirit, or mind.

3.	(lowercase) Psychology, Psychoanalysis. the mental or psychological structure of a person, esp. as a motive force.

4.	Neoplatonism. the second emanation of the One, regarded as a universal consciousness and as the animating principle of the world.

5.	a female given name.

[Origin: 1650–60 for def. 2; < L psȳché < Gk psȳch lit., breath, deriv. of psȳ́chein to breathe, blow, hence, live (see psycho-)

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

psych also psyche Audio Help   (sīk) Pronunciation Key
v.   psyched, psych·ing, psyches

v.   tr.

1. To put into the right psychological frame of mind: The coach psyched the team before the game.
2. To excite emotionally: The children were psyched to see the circus.
3. To analyze, solve, or comprehend.
4. To anticipate or guess the intentions of: "Most others could never approach [his] ability ... to psyche out the opposition's thinking so consistently" (Steven Brill).
To undermine the confidence of by psychological means; intimidate: "Depending on whose personality is stronger, one can more easily psych the other" (Harold C. Schonberg).
1. To analyze, solve, or comprehend.
2. To anticipate or guess the intentions of: "Most others could never approach [his] ability ... to psyche out the opposition's thinking so consistently" (Steven Brill).
Informal To analyze and treat by psychoanalysis.

v. intr.
To become confused or mentally deranged.

n. psych
Psychology.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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psy·che¹ Audio Help (sī'kē) Pronunciation Key
n.

The spirit or soul.
Psychiatry The mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion, and behavior and consciously or unconsciously adjusting or mediating the body's responses to the social and physical environment.

[Latin psȳchē, from Greek psūkhē, soul; see bhes- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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psyche² Audio Help (sīk) Pronunciation Key
v. Variant of psych.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Psy·che Audio Help (sī'kē) Pronunciation Key
n. Greek Mythology
A young woman who loved and was loved by Eros and was united with him after Aphrodite's jealousy was overcome. She subsequently became the personification of the soul.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
psyche

1647, "animating spirit," from L. psyche, from Gk. psykhe "the soul, mind, spirit, breath, life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body" (personified as Psykhe, the lover of Eros), akin to psykhein "to blow, cool," from PIE base *bhes- "to blow" (cf. Skt. bhas-). The word had extensive sense development in Platonic philosophy and Jewish-infl. theological writing of St. Paul. In Eng., psychological sense is from 1910.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

psyche
noun
1.	that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason; "his mind wandered"; "I couldn't get his words out of my head" [syn: mind]
2.	the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life [syn: soul]
3.	(Greek mythology) a beautiful princess loved by Cupid who visited her at night and told her she must not try to see him; became the personification of the soul

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
Psyche [(seye-kee)]

In Roman mythology, a beautiful girl who was visited each night in the dark by Cupid, who told her she must not try to see him. When she did try, while he was asleep, she accidentally dropped oil from her lamp on him, and he awoke and fled. After she had performed many harsh tasks set by Cupid's mother, Venus, Jupiter made her immortal, and she and Cupid were married. Her name is Greek for both “soul” and “butterfly.”

[Chapter:] Mythology and Folklore

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
psyche [(seye-kee)]

The mind, soul, or spirit, as opposed to the body. In psychology, the psyche is the center of thought, feeling, and motivation, consciously and unconsciously directing the body's reactions to its social and physical environment.

[Chapter:] Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

psyche psy·che (sī'kē)
n.
The mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion, and behavior and consciously or unconsciously mediating the body's responses to the social and physical environment.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: psy·che
Pronunciation: 'sI-(")kE
Function: noun
: the specialized cognitive, conative, and affective aspects of a psychosomatic unity : MIND; specifically : the totality of the id, ego, and superego including both conscious and unconsciouscomponents

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Psyche

Psy"che\, n. [L., fr. Gr. PSychh` Psyche, fr. psychh` the soul.]

1. (Class Myth.) A lovely maiden, daughter of a king and mistress of Eros, or Cupid. She is regarded as the personification of the soul.

2. The soul; the vital principle; the mind.

3. [F. psych['e].] A cheval glass.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

psyche

psyche: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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