Antipathy: In Renaissance natural… | etymologist.ai
antipathy
/ænˈtɪp.ə.θi/·noun·c. 1592·Established
Origin
Greek 'feelingagainst' — the exact mirror of 'sympathy' (feeling together), built from the same emotional root.
Definition
A deep-seated feeling of dislike or aversion; a natural incompatibility between things.
The Full Story
Greek16th centurywell-attested
From Latin antipathīa, from Greek antipátheia (opposition in feeling, natural contrariety), from antí (against, opposite to) + páthos (feeling, suffering, experience), from páschein (to suffer, to experience), from PIE *kwenth- (to suffer, to endure). ThePIEroot *kwenth- also gave Greek penthos (grief) and possibly English passion via a Latin cognate path. The prefix antí (PIE *h₂enti, facing, in front of) gave English anti- and
Did you know?
In Renaissance natural philosophy, 'antipathy' and 'sympathy' were the two fundamental forcesgoverning the universe — a kind of proto-physics. Oiland water had 'antipathy'; a magnet and iron had 'sympathy.' Cats and mice, fire and water, wolves and sheep — all were