psychedelic

Etymology

It was coined in 1956 by the psychiatrist Humphry Osmond, in a letter to Aldous Huxley,^[2][3][4] irregularly from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “mind, soul”) + δηλόω (dēlóō, “to make visible, reveal”) with the English suffix -ic.^{[4][5][6][7][2]} The Greek verb is from δῆλος (dêlos, “visible, clear”);^[2][4][5][6] Collins and the Oxford Dictionary of English take the second element directly from that adjective.^[8][9] Etymonline and the American Heritage Dictionary trace it to Proto-Indo-European *dyeu- (“to shine”).^[2][7] The variant psychodelic follows psycho-.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a drug that alters the mind, apparently expanding consciousness: 1956, in Osmond's letter to Huxley.^[4][2][6] The adjective, of such a drug, is first recorded in 1957, in Osmond's paper in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.^[4][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart notes that Osmond was a British research scientist then living in Saskatchewan, Canada.^[3] From 1963 the adjective was used of anything relating to or produced by such drugs; from 1966 it was also used of people and activities concerned with them.^[4][10] In popular use from 1965 it described anything that seemed to produce or imitate the effects of a psychedelic drug:^[2] a style of rock music (1965)^[4] and art and design with intense colours in swirling patterns (1966).^[4][8] The noun for a person who takes such drugs (1966) is now rare.^[4]

Timeline

• 1956 – noun, a mind-altering drug.^[4][6][2]
• 1957 – adjective, of a drug, expanding consciousness.^[4][6][3]
• 1963 – relating to or produced by such a drug.^[4]
• 1965 – of popular music inspired by such drugs.^[4]
• 1966 – imitating the visual effects of such drugs, with vivid swirling colours; also a person who takes them.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a drug: altering perception and consciousness, often with hallucinations.^[6][8][4]
2. Produced by or associated with the use of such drugs: psychedelic visions.^[6][4]
3. Imitating the effects of such drugs, especially with vivid colours and complex swirling patterns: a psychedelic poster.^[8][6][4]
4. Of rock music: inspired by such drugs, with long experimental pieces and unusual sounds.^[4]

Noun

1. A psychedelic drug.^[6][4][5]
2. A person who uses such drugs (now rare).^[4][6]

Word family

• psychedelically
• prepsychedelic

Related words

• psychedelia
• psyche
• psycho-

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)