Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "psychiatry" come from? It comes from Greek psykhe, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "psychiatry" come from? It comes from Greek psykhe, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).
Psychiatry’s story begins in Greek: psykhe meant “the soul, the mind.” The soul or mind, combined with iatreia (healing). It reached English by 1800s as psychiatry. Coined for the medical treatment of mental illness. Today, psychiatry means the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient psykhe "the soul, the mind", the soul or mind, combined with iatreia (healing).
- Stage 2 · English · 1800s psychiatry "the treatment of mental illness", coined for the medical treatment of mental illness.