Greek gave English its words for feelings. path means “feeling” (and also “suffering”): sympathy is feeling with someone. phil means “love”: philosophy is the love of wisdom, and the city name Philadelphia means “brotherly love.” Its opposite, miso (or mis-), means “hate.” And anthrop means “human being.”
Key idea
path = feeling, suffering. phil = love. miso, mis- = hate. anthrop = human being.
Put a prefix on path and you get a whole family of feelings: apathy (no feeling), empathy (feeling in another’s place), sympathy (feeling with), antipathy (feeling against). Put phil or miso on anthrop and you get two opposite people: the philanthropist, who loves humankind, and the misanthrope, who dislikes people.
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| apathy lack of interest or concern | a- without + path feeling + -y → “without feeling” |
| empathy the ability to share and understand another’s feelings | em- in + path feeling + -y → “feeling in (another’s place)” |
| antipathy a strong dislike | anti- against + path feeling + -y → “feeling against” |
| pathos a quality that stirs pity or sadness | path suffering + -os → “suffering (that stirs pity)” |
| telepathy the supposed sending of thoughts from one mind to another without words | tele far + path feeling + -y → “feeling from far away” |
| philanthropist a person who gives generously to help others | phil love + anthrop human being + -ist a person who → “one who loves humankind” |
| bibliophile a person who loves books | biblio book + phil love + -e → “a lover of books” |
| misanthrope a person who dislikes people in general | mis hate + anthrop human being + -e → “a hater of people” |
| anthropology the study of human beings and their cultures | anthrop human being + -logy study of → “the study of human beings” |
Worked example: Empathy or sympathy?
Maya’s friend lost a big game. Maya, who lost one last year, says, “I know exactly how that feels.” Is that empathy or sympathy?
- sympathy = sym- (with) + path (feeling): feeling sorry for someone.
- empathy = em- (in) + path: feeling from inside the other person’s place, sharing the feeling.
- Maya shares the feeling from the inside.
Answer: Empathy.
Meet the words
Common mistake
Mixing up the path words. empathy (sharing someone’s feelings) is not sympathy (feeling sorry for someone), and apathy (no feeling, not caring) is not antipathy (a strong dislike). The prefix makes all the difference.