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Definition of psychic - 8 dictionary results

psy⋅chic

[sahy-kik]
–adjective Also, psy⋅chi⋅cal.
1. of or pertaining to the human soul or mind; mental (opposed to physical ).
2. Psychology. pertaining to or noting mental phenomena.
3. outside of natural or scientific knowledge; spiritual.
4. of or pertaining to some apparently nonphysical force or agency: psychic research; psychic phenomena.
5. sensitive to influences or forces of a nonphysical or supernatural nature.
–noun
6. a person who is allegedly sensitive to psychic influences or forces; medium.

Origin:
1855–60; < Gk psȳchikós of the soul. See Psyche, -ic


psy⋅chi⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
me·di·um   (mē'dē-əm)   
n.   pl. me·di·a (-dē-ə) or me·di·ums
  1. Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.
  2. An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on.
  3. An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred: The train was the usual medium of transportation in those days.
  4. pl. media Usage Problem
    1. A means of mass communication, such as newpapers, magazines, radio, or television.
    2. media (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession.
    3. A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
    4. The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
    5. A culture medium.
    6. A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
    7. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
  5. pl. media Computer Science An object or device, such as a disk, on which data is stored.
  6. pl. mediums A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. Also called psychic.
  7. pl. media
    1. A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
    2. The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
    3. A culture medium.
    4. A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
    5. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
    1. A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
    2. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
  8. A solvent with which paint is thinned to the proper consistency.
  9. Chemistry A filtering substance, such as filter paper.
  10. A size of paper, usually 18 × 23 inches or 17 1/2 × 22 inches.
adj.  Occurring or being between two degrees, amounts, or quantities; intermediate: broil a medium steak. See Synonyms at average.

[Latin, from neuter of medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: The etymologically plural form media is often used as a singular to refer to a particular means of communication, as in The Internet is the most exciting new media since television. Many people regard this usage as incorrect, preferring medium in such contexts. · People also use media with the definite article as a collective term to refer not to the forms of communication themselves so much as the communities and institutions behind them. In this sense, the media means something like "the press." Like other collective nouns, it may take a singular or plural verb depending on the intended meaning. If the point is to emphasize the multifaceted nature of the press, a plural verb may be more appropriate: The media have covered the trial in a variety of formats. Frequently, however, media stands as a singular noun for the aggregate of journalists and broadcasters: The media has not shown much interest in covering the trial. This development of a singular media parallels that of more established words such as data and agenda, which are also Latin plurals that have acquired a singular meaning. · The singular medium cannot be used as a collective noun for the press. The sentence No medium has shown much interest in covering the issue, would suggest that the lack of interest is in the means of communication itself rather than in its practitioners.
psy·chic   (sī'kĭk)   
n.  
  1. A person apparently responsive to psychic forces.
  2. See medium.
adj.   also psy·chi·cal (-kĭ-kəl)
  1. Of, relating to, affecting, or influenced by the human mind or psyche; mental: psychic trauma; psychic energy.
    1. Capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy.
    2. Of or relating to such mental processes.

[From Greek psūkhikos, of the soul, from psūkhē, soul; see bhes- in Indo-European roots.]
psy'chi·cal·ly adv.

Psychic

Psy"chic\, Psychical \Psy"chic*al\, a. [L. psychicus, Gr. ?, fr. psychh` the soul, mind; cf. ? to blow: cf. F. psychique.]

1. Of or pertaining to the human soul, or to the living principle in man.

Note: This term was formerly used to express the same idea as psychological. Recent metaphysicians, however, have employed it to mark the difference between psychh` the living principle in man, and pney^ma the rational or spiritual part of his nature. In this use, the word describes the human soul in its relation to sense, appetite, and the outer visible world, as distinguished from spiritual or rational faculties, which have to do with the supersensible world. --Heyse.

2. Of or pertaining to the mind, or its functions and diseases; mental; -- contrasted with physical.

Psychical blindness, Psychical deafness (Med.), forms of nervous disease in which, while the senses of sight and hearing remain unimpaired, the mind fails to appreciate the significance of the sounds heard or the images seen.

Psychical contagion, the transference of disease, especially of a functional nervous disease, by mere force of example.

Psychical medicine, that department of medicine which treats of mental diseases.
Language Translation for : psychic
Spanish: psíquico,
German: psychisch,
Japanese: 心霊の

psychic 
1871 (n.) "a medium;" 1873 (adj.) "of or pertaining to the human soul" (earlier psychical, 1642), from Gk. psykhikos "of the soul, spirit, or mind," from psykhe- "soul, mind" (see psyche). Meaning "characterized by psychic gifts" first recorded 1895.

Main Entry: 1psy·chic
Pronunciation: 'sI-kik
Variant: also psy·chi·cal /-ki-k&l/
Function:adjective
1 : of or relating to the psyche : PSYCHOGENIC
2 : sensitive to nonphysical or supernatural forces and influences —psy·chi·cal·ly /-ki-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Main Entry: 2psychic
Function: noun
: a person apparently sensitive to nonphysical forces

psychic psy·chic (sī'kĭk)
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, affecting, or influenced by the human mind or psyche; mental.
  2. Capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy.
  3. Of or relating to such mental processes.
n.
A person apparently responsive to psychic forces.

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