'Sociopath' was coined c.1930 from Latin 'socius' (companion) + Greek 'pathos' (disease).
A person with a personality disorder manifesting as extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour and a lack of conscience, often considered to result from social or environmental factors.
A modern compound formed in the early 20th century from Latin 'socius' (companion, ally, partner) and Greek 'páthos' (suffering, feeling, disease). Latin 'socius' derives from PIE *sokʷ-yo- (companion, one who follows alongside), related to *sekʷ- (to follow). Greek 'páthos' derives from PIE *kwenth- (to suffer, to endure). The term 'psychopath' (using Greek 'psychē,' soul or mind) preceded 'sociopath' in clinical usage. 'Sociopath' was coined to emphasise that the disorder manifests
The word 'sociopath' is a Latin-Greek hybrid — 'socius' is Latin but 'pathos' is Greek. Classical purists have always objected to such mixing (the same objection that dogs 'television,' from Greek 'tele-' + Latin 'vīsiō'). George Partridge chose the Latin element deliberately: the point was that this disorder was defined by its social impact, and 'socius' carried the social meaning more clearly than any Greek equivalent.
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