empathy

Where does the word "empathy" come from? It comes from Greek empatheia, and was adopted directly into English (1909).

Empathy’s story begins in Greek: empatheia meant “feeling into something.” Literally feeling into, from en- (in) and pathos (feeling). It reached English by 1909 as empathy. Coined by psychologists to translate the German concept of Einfühlung, feeling into another's experience. Today, empathy means the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient empatheia "feeling into something", literally feeling into, from en- (in) and pathos (feeling).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1909 empathy "the ability to understand and share another's feelings", coined by psychologists to translate the German concept of Einfühlung, feeling into another's experience.