Etymologically
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psychiatric

Etymology and origin of the English word psychiatric

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1837
Borrowed from
German psychiatrisch

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌsaɪ.kiˈæt.ɹɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German psychiatrisch or French psychiatrique, or formed in English from psychiatry and -ic.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to psychiatry: 1837 in Etymonline, 1847 in the OED.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Psychiatrics, the theory or practice of psychiatry, and psychiatrical are also from 1847.[5] Psychiatric social work, supporting psychiatric treatment, is a later compound.[4]

Timeline

  • 1837 – psychiatric.[2]
  • 1847 – psychiatrics.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to mental illness or its treatment, or to psychiatry: a psychiatric hospital.

Word family

  • nonpsychiatric
  • psychiatric hospital

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Psychiatric.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/psychiatric. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·