telepathy

Etymology

It was coined in 1882 by the English poet, writer and psychical researcher Frederic W. H. Myers (1843–1901),^[2][3][4] together with telæsthesia.^[4] It is formed from English tele- + -pathy,^[5][6][7][8] so that it means literally "feeling from afar".^[4][3] The first element is from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “far off, at a distance”),^[1] and the second from -πάθεια (-pátheia, “feeling”).^[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The supposed communication of thoughts from one mind to another by other than the known senses: 1882, Myers's coinage, according to Barnhart, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged.^[2][4][7] The OED's first quotation is from Myers in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research of 1883.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its one meaning, the passing of thoughts, images or feelings between minds without the use of the senses, which the OED and the American Heritage Dictionary describe as supposed.^[5][10] Derivatives followed quickly: telepathic in 1884,^[2] and the noun telepath by 1889, apparently a back-formation;^[4][6] telepathize is from the early 20th century.^[6] The phrase mental telepathy is used for mind reading.^[7][11]

Timeline

• 1882 – the communication of thoughts between minds other than through the senses, coined by Myers.^[2][4][7][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The supposed communication of thoughts, feelings or images from one mind to another without the use of the senses, by psychic or paranormal means; thought transference: The twins joked that they spoke by telepathy.^{[9][7][5][10]}

Word family

• telepathic
• telepathically
• telepathist
• telepathize

Related words

• telegraph
• telephone
• empathy
• sympathy
• pathos

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House