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psychose

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Etymology and origin of the French word psychose

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1859 Journal de médecine et de chirurgie pratiques More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek ψυχή

Pronunciation

Forms

psychose f (plural psychoses)[1]

Etymology

The TLFi analyses it as formed from French psycho- + -ose on the model of névrose.[2][3][4] Rey and the Grand Robert describe it as an adaptation of German Psychosis, coined in 1845 by Feuchtersleben from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “mind, soul”) and the ending of νεύρωσις (neúrōsis).[5][6] Littré derives it simply from the Greek word for the soul.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1859, in the Journal de médecine et de chirurgie pratiques, for a mental illness whose sufferer does not recognize it as an illness.[2]

Semantic evolution

Littré (1869) still used it as a general name for mental illnesses;[7][3] in medicine it came to be set against névrose, the psychoses being the illnesses in which the patient loses touch with reality.[5][4]

From 1913 it was used more loosely for an obsession or fixed idea: Péguy called something une idée fixe, une phobie, une psychose.[2][5] Psychose collective is recorded in 1926 and psychose de guerre, an excessive collective fear, in 1936.[2][5] The derivative psychotique (1877) now mostly means “suffering from psychosis”.[5] English psychosis is recorded from 1847.[9]

Timeline

  • 1845 – Feuchtersleben coins German Psychosis.[5][6]
  • 1859 – First French record, in a medical journal.[2][5]
  • 1869 – Littré records it as a name for mental illnesses.[3]
  • 1877 – The derivative psychotique appears.[5]
  • 1913 – Péguy uses it for an obsession or fixed idea.[2]
  • 1926 – Psychose collective is recorded, in Paul Bourget.[2][5]
  • 1936 – Roger Martin du Gard writes of a psychose de guerre.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (medicine) Psychosis: a serious mental illness, such as schizophrénie or paranoïa, which disturbs the personality and the sense of reality and which the patient does not recognize as an illness, unlike a névrose.[4][10][2]
  2. Psychose maniacodépressive or psychose bipolaire: bipolar disorder.[4]
  3. (common) An obsession or fixed idea, especially a fear shared by many: psychose collective, psychose de guerre.[4][10][2]

Word family

  • psychotique
  • psychosé
  • antipsychotique

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 501b
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Psychose.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/psychose. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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