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psychotherapy

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Etymology and origin of the English word psychotherapy

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1892 F. W. van Eeden, Medical Magazine
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek ψυχή,θεραπεία
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin therapia
English therapy
English psychotherapy
Italian terapia
From the same root
English chemotherapy ← therapy

Pronunciation

  • /ˌsaɪkoʊˈθɛɹəpi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English psycho- + therapy,[2][3][4][5] probably after French psychothérapie, recorded from 1888 according to the OED and 1889 according to Etymonline.[2][3] Merriam-Webster treats it as a word of the international scientific vocabulary.[6] The OED compares German Psychotherapie (1892 or earlier), itself from French.[2] The prefix psycho- goes back to Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, mind”),[3][1] and therapy comes through New Latin therapia from Ancient Greek θεραπεία (therapeía, “healing, service done to the sick”), from θεραπεύω (therapeúō, “to cure, treat medically”).[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The treatment of disease by psychic or hypnotic influence, and of disorders of the mind by psychological means: 1892, in an article by F. W. van Eeden in the Medical Magazine.[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1890,[6] Dictionary.com to 1890–95,[4] and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 19th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

In its early use the word meant mainly the treatment of disease by "psychic" methods, above all hypnotism.[3][2][5] It was preceded by psychotherapeia, used in medical writing in 1853 for the healing influence of the mind, and by psychotherapeutics (1872).[3] The modern sense, treatment of mental and emotional disorders by psychological methods, especially by talking, has replaced the older one;[5][6][7] Merriam-Webster also uses the word for a particular school or method of such treatment, such as Freudian psychoanalysis.[6]

Timeline

  • 1853 – psychotherapeia, the remedial influence of the mind, in medical writing.[3]
  • 1872 – psychotherapeutics.[3]
  • 1892 – psychotherapy, treatment by psychic or psychological methods.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The treatment of mental or emotional disorders by psychological methods, especially through conversation between patient and therapist.[7][6][2]
  2. A particular school or method of such treatment, such as psychoanalysis.[6]
  3. (historical) The treatment of disease by hypnotic or psychic influence.[2][5]

Word family

  • psychotherapeutic
  • psychotherapeutically
  • psychotherapist

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Psychotherapy.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/psychotherapy. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·