Meanings
psyche1
plural psyches
- The human soul, mind, or spirit.
We feel we have been victimised over the centuries. It’s part of our psyche – underneath it all we side with the underdog.”
2023 November 20, Rory Carroll, Lisa O'Carroll, “‘It’s part of our psyche’: why Ireland sides with ‘underdog’ Palestine”, in The Guardian, →ISSN1 more example
I've been driving in L.A. / And the world, it feels too big / Like a floating ball that's bound to break / Snap my psyche like a twig
2022 January 28, Em Beihold, Nick Lopez, Dru DeCaro, “Numb Little Bug”, in Egg in the Backseat, performed by Em Beihold - human sciencesThe human mind as the central force in thought, emotion, and behavior of an individual.
psyche2
present singular third person psyches · participle present psyching · participle past psyched · past psyched · alternative psych
- alternativeAlternative form of psych.
Psyche3
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthat which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
nounthe immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
psyche · noun
- Ancient Greekψυχή“soul”
- Latinpsychē
- Englishpsyche
Learned borrowing from Latin psychē, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →psyche · noun, interjection, verb
- Ancient Greekψυχή“soul”
- Latinpsychologia
- Frenchpsychologie
- Englishpsyche
Shortened form of psychology, from French psychologie, from Latin psychologia, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) and -λογία (-logía, “study of”)
More words from French, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Psyche · proper noun
- Ancient Greekψυχή
- EnglishPsyche
From Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, literally “Soul, Spirit”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Ψυχή
- Ψυχή (Psukhḗ)Greco-Roman goddess
Arabic نَفْس, رُوح
- نَفْس (nafs)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- رُوح (rūḥ)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- سيكيGreco-Roman goddess
Bulgarian душа́, пси́хика
- душа́ (dušá)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- пси́хика (psíhika)the human soul, mind, or spirit
Catalan psique, Psique
- psiquethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsiqueGreco-Roman goddess
Chinese Cantonese 精神, 心靈 /心灵
- 精神the human soul, mind, or spirit
- 心靈 /心灵 (sam¹ ling⁴)the human soul, mind, or spirit
Chinese Mandarin 精神, 心靈 /心灵
- 精神 (jīngshén)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- 心靈 /心灵 (xīnlíng)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- 靈神星 /灵神星 (Língshénxīng)Asteroid
Czech psýcha, psychika
- psýchathe human soul, mind, or spirit
- psychikathe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsýchéGreco-Roman goddess
- PsychéGreco-Roman goddess
Danish Psyke
- PsykeGreco-Roman goddess
Dutch psyche
- psychethe human soul, mind, or spirit
Esperanto psiko, Psiĥo
- psikothe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsiĥoGreco-Roman goddess
- PsiĥaGreco-Roman goddess
Finnish psyyke, Psykhe
- psyykethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsykheGreco-Roman goddess
- PsycheAsteroid
French psyché, psychisme
- psychéthe human soul, mind, or spirit
- psychismethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsychéGreco-Roman goddess
German Psyche, Geist
- Psychethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- Geistthe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsycheGreco-Roman goddess
Greek ψυχή, Ψυχή
- ψυχή (psychí)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- Ψυχή (Psychí)Greco-Roman goddess
Hungarian psziché, Pszükhé
- pszichéthe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PszükhéGreco-Roman goddess
Italian psiche, Psiche
- psichethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsicheGreco-Roman goddess
- PsicheAsteroid
Japanese 精神, プシューケー
- 精神 (seishin)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- プシューケー (pushūkē)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- プシューケー (Pushūkē)Greco-Roman goddess
- プシケ (Pushike)Asteroid
Korean 정신, 프시케
- 정신 (jeongsin)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- 프시케 (peusike)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- 프시케 (Peusike)Greco-Roman goddess
Māori mauri
- maurithe human soul, mind, or spirit
Polish psyche, psychika
- psychethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- psychikathe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsycheGreco-Roman goddess
Portuguese psique, Psiquê
- psiquethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsiquêGreco-Roman goddess
Romanian psihic
- psihicthe human soul, mind, or spirit
Russian душа́, дух
- душа́ (dušá)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- дух (dux)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- пси́хика (psíxika)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- Психе́я (Psixéja)Greco-Roman goddess
- Психе́я (Psixéja)Asteroid
Slovak psychika
- psychikathe human soul, mind, or spirit
Spanish psique, psiquis
- psiquethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- psiquisthe human soul, mind, or spirit
- psiquismothe human soul, mind, or spirit
- PsiqueGreco-Roman goddess
Turkish psişe, ruh
- psişethe human soul, mind, or spirit
- ruhthe human soul, mind, or spirit
Ukrainian душа́, пси́хіка
- душа́ (dušá)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- пси́хіка (psýxika)the human soul, mind, or spirit
- Психе́я (Psyxéja)Greco-Roman goddess
Urdu سائیکی
- سائیکی (sāekī)Greco-Roman goddess
Vietnamese tâm, tinh thần
- tâmthe human soul, mind, or spirit
- tinh thầnthe human soul, mind, or spirit
- tâm tríthe human soul, mind, or spirit
Yiddish פּסיכע
- פּסיכע (psikhe)the human soul, mind, or spirit
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with psyche
Cite this entry
psyche. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/psyche
“psyche.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/psyche. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “psyche,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/psyche.
Source: psyche on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.