Etymology

catharsis

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Today it means: A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy). Full definition →

Ancient Greek κάθαρσις
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromκάθαρσις“cleansing, purging”
  2. English todaycatharsis

From Ancient Greek κάθαρσις (kátharsis, “cleansing, purging”), from καθαίρω (kathaírō, “I cleanse”). Coined in the dramatic-emotional sense by Aristotle.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.