empathy English · revision 1172

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɛmpəθi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed as a rendering of [[de|Einfühlung|t=a feeling into]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from [[grc|ἐμπάθεια|tr=empátheia|t=passion, state of emotion]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[af|grc|ἐν|πάθος|tr1=en|tr2=páthos|t1=in|t2=feeling]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) Etymonline credits the German word to the philosopher Rudolf Lotze in 1858.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[pathos]] and [[sympathy]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In aesthetics, the power of projecting one's personality into an object of contemplation and so fully understanding it (1904 in Barnhart and the OED; 1908 in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The term came from a theory that the appreciation of art depends on the viewer's ability to project himself into the work.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The psychologist Edward Titchener used it in 1909 as a rendering of ''Einfühlung''.^(Etymonline) From this the word broadened to the general sense of understanding and sharing another person's feelings,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) now the main one.^(Wiktionary) The verb ''empathize'' is recorded from 1924.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1858 – German ''Einfühlung''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1904 – projecting oneself into an object of contemplation.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1909 – Titchener's use in psychology.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1924 – ''empathize''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The ability to understand and share another person's situation, feelings and motives.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The attribution of one's own feelings to an object, such as a [[work of art]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[empathic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sympathy]]

+ * [[pathos]]

+ * [[apathy]]

+ * [[empathize]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House refers ''empathy'' to its synonym discussion at ''sympathy''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}