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empathy

Etymology and origin of the English word empathy

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɛmpəθi/[1]

Etymology

It was formed as a rendering of German Einfühlung (“a feeling into”),[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἐμπάθεια (empátheia, “passion, state of emotion”),[3][4][6][5] from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + πάθος (páthos, “feeling”).[2][3][4][6] Etymonline credits the German word to the philosopher Rudolf Lotze in 1858.[4] It is related to pathos and sympathy.[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In aesthetics, the power of projecting one's personality into an object of contemplation and so fully understanding it (1904 in Barnhart and the OED; 1908 in Etymonline).[3][7][4]

Semantic evolution

The term came from a theory that the appreciation of art depends on the viewer's ability to project himself into the work.[3][4] The psychologist Edward Titchener used it in 1909 as a rendering of Einfühlung.[4] From this the word broadened to the general sense of understanding and sharing another person's feelings,[2][6][5] now the main one.[1] The verb empathize is recorded from 1924.[3]

Timeline

  • 1858 – German Einfühlung.[4]
  • 1904 – projecting oneself into an object of contemplation.[3][7]
  • 1909 – Titchener's use in psychology.[4]
  • 1924 – empathize.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The ability to understand and share another person's situation, feelings and motives.
  2. The attribution of one's own feelings to an object, such as a work of art.

Word family

  • empathic
  • sympathy
  • pathos
  • apathy
  • empathize

Usage notes

Random House refers empathy to its synonym discussion at sympathy.[5]

References

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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Empathy.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/empathy. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·