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psychotic

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Etymology and origin of the English word psychotic

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1889
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek ψυχή

Pronunciation

  • /ˌsaɪˈkɒtɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English psychosis + -otic,[2][3][4][5] on the model of neurotic beside neurosis.[6][2] Merriam-Webster takes it from New Latin psychosis, after pairs such as narcosis and narcotic.[7] Psychosis is from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, mind”) and the suffix -osis.[6] The OED compares French psychotique, an adjective from 1877, and German psychotisch, from 1903 or earlier.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to psychosis: 1889, according to Etymonline;[6] the OED's first record, of 1890 in Billings's National Medical Dictionary, is an obsolete sense equal to psychagogic, and its sense "of or having psychosis" begins in 1896, in the New Sydenham Society Lexicon.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed a medical and psychological term.[5][2] The noun, a person with psychosis, is recorded from 1901 by Etymonline, from 1910 by the OED;[6][2] the adverb psychotically from the mid 20th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1889 – of or relating to psychosis (Etymonline).[6]
  • 1890 – in a sense equal to psychagogic (obsolete).[2]
  • 1896 – of, relating to or having psychosis.[2][8]
  • 1901 – noun, a psychotic person (1910 in the OED).[6][2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or affected by psychosis: a psychotic episode.[3][7][9]

Noun

  1. A person affected by psychosis.[3][7][9]

Word family

  • psychotically
  • antipsychotic
  • nonpsychotic
  • prepsychotic
  • semipsychotic
  • unpsychotic
  • psychosis
  • psyche
  • neurotic
  • psychopath

Usage notes

Collins advises speaking of a person experiencing psychosis rather than of "a psychotic", which reduces the person to the condition.[9]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Psychotic.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/psychotic. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·