apathy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæ.pə.θi/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French apathie and Latin apathīa,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ἀπάθεια (apátheia, “freedom from suffering, insensibility”),^[5][2][3][6] from apathḗs “without feeling”,^[5][2][3][6] from a- “without” and páthos “feeling, suffering”.^[5][2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Freedom from suffering or passion (1603),^[7][2] a positive quality.^[3]

Semantic evolution

For the Stoics apatheia was an ideal, freedom from emotion of any kind,^[4][3] and the English word first had that admiring sense.^[7][3] By 1733 it had come to mean mental indolence or indifference to things that ought to move one,^[7][3] which is now the main sense.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1594 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^[6]
• 1603 – freedom from suffering or passion.^[7][2]
• before 1733 – indifference, lack of interest.^[7][3]
• 1744 – apathetic.^[2]
• 1881 – of markets, sluggishness.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Lack of interest or concern; indifference.
2. Lack of emotion or feeling.
3. (Stoicism) Freedom from emotion of any kind.

Related words

• apathetic
• pathos
• sympathy

Usage notes

Random House refers to indifference for a synonym discussion, and gives ardor and fervor as antonyms.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press