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Definition of psyche - 14 dictionary results

psyche

  [sahyk]
Use psyche in a Sentence
–verb (used with object) psyched, psych⋅ing.
psych 1 .

Psy⋅che

  [sahy-kee]
–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 psȳchē < Gk psȳch lit., breath, deriv. of psȳ́chein to breathe, blow, hence, live (see psycho- )

psych

1  [sahyk]
–verb (used with object) Informal.
1. to intimidate or frighten psychologically, or make nervous (often fol. by out): to psych out the competition.
2. to prepare psychologically to be in the right frame of mind or to give one's best (often fol. by up): to psych oneself up for an interview.
3. to figure out psychologically; decipher (often fol. by out): to psych out a problem.
Also, psyche.

Origin:
1915–20 in earlier sense “to subject to psychoanalysis”; orig. a shortening of psychoanalyze; in later use (especially in defs. 1 and 2) perh. independent use of psych-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To psyche
psych also psyche   (sīk)   
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).

  2. 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).

  4. Informal To analyze and treat by psychoanalysis.

v.   intr.
To become confused or mentally deranged.
n.   psych
Psychology.
psy·che 1   (sī'kē)   
n.  

  1. The spirit or soul.

  2. 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.]
psyche 2   (sīk)   
v.  Variant of psych.
Psy·che   (sī'kē)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

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.”


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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

psych 
short for psychology in various senses; as an academic study, in student slang by 1895. The verb is generally negative when used transitively, positive when intransitive; first attested (also psych out) 1934 as "to outsmart," from 1963 as "to unnerve." However to psych (oneself) up is from 1972; to be psyched up is attested from 1968.

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: psych
Function: abbreviation
psychology

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
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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