[sahy-kee] 
| 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. |
lit., breath, deriv. of psȳ́chein to breathe, blow, hence, live (see psycho- ) [sahyk] | 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. |
| psych also psyche (sīk) v. psyched, psych·ing, psyches v. tr.
To become confused or mentally deranged. n. psych Psychology. |
| psy·che 1 (sī'kē) n.
[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. |
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.”
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.
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.
