Meanings
nounproxemics (uncountable)
- uncountableThe study of the effects of the physical distance between people in different cultures and societies.
Proxemics refers to the personal distance that individuals prefer to keep between themselves and other individuals and is an important element of nonverbal communication.
2007, Thomas N. Ingram, Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach, page 123
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*prokʷe
- Proto-Indo-European*prokʷism̥mos
- Latinproximus
- Latinproximitās
- Middle Frenchproximité
- Englishproximityclip.
- Englishprox-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
- Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
- Ancient Greekφωνέω (phōnéō)
- Ancient Greekφώνημα (phṓnēma)
- Englishphonemeclip.
- Englishprox-
- Englishproxemics
From prox- (“proximity, nearness”) + -eme + -ics, or from prox- + -emic + -s. Clipping of proximity + modeling on phonemics. Coined by American anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1963.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French proxémie
- proxémiestudy
German Proxemik
- Proxemikstudy
Italian prossemica
- prossemicastudy
Polish proksemika
- proksemikastudy
Portuguese proxêmica, proxémica
- proxêmicastudy
- proxémicastudy
Spanish proxemia, proxémica
- proxemiastudy
- proxémicastudy
Cite this entry
APA
proxemics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/proxemics
MLA
“proxemics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/proxemics. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “proxemics,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/proxemics.
Source: proxemics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.