I’ve often pondered the same “stigmas” about how the meanings of “psych” and related words. I’m constantly reading any book I can grab, regardless of subject or title, and the way meanings of words have changed so much over years & decades is astounding, often fascinating, and occasionally disturbing. One of my dreams from childhood was to be an Assyriologist or Egyptologist, where all I did was read & translate ancient writings, so in pursuit of a unfulfillable dream, I’ve seen just how much meanings & context changes not only with time but also with translations.

Psych based words, & anything related to psychology in general, I’ve found are especially to be a ticking bomb loaded with mental shrapnel waiting to explode at just the right moment. Just shy of religion & politics on the “inflict maximum discomfort” & “cause instant hostile reactions” scales, people seem so polarized, opinionated, & judgmental just hearing anything related to it.

It’s like the root word & all relations to it has become so perverted by mass fear & distortion that I often feel like I can’t even think about it without setting myself up for criticism, skepticism, & being ostracized by the world in general. Other than here on DS, I’ve rarely encountered a single person who doesn’t mentally shudder & become uncomfortable with conversations or thoughts regarding anything relating to “psych”.

Part of me wonders if the huge stigmas that have developed to such a ridiculously unnecessary level has something to with how so many words are abused by use as “slang” words. So many meanings of innocent words have been completely confused & distorted negatively by cultural slang. If there was every a swifter & more disturbing way to pervert the meaning of words, I haven’t seen any more successful than slang.

“Lost in translation” often seems to be another factor in distorted meanings, so I guess there are just so many factors to ponder as to why, how, and what meanings of words are and the stigmas they have developed.

Great discussion topic, Arfie. This post has made a wonderful morning read and thought provoker. (Though not sure if my comment is what you were looking for..., still not awake yet.) I look forward to seeing other comments on this thread. Thank for posting this, Arfie.

Hugs & more hugs.

I always figure those darned old Greeks would be horrified. To them, the word only meant soul/mind. To have a psyche was to be alive; to study that was what the phrased by adding Latin -ology (logia, IIRC)... So henever I run into that stuff, I just say to myself these days, "Psycho is a movie, psychology is a study of what we can't even quantify, psychiatry tries to heal it (from the old Greeks again)....

It's an odd recitation, but ... I dunno... I'm kinda glad I have a "psych" to be diagnosed with illnesses. Soul/mind. Good things to have, IMHO.

Wondering with you, Vltava. The part of etymology which most intrigues me is that not even Monarchs or grammar teachers get to control which way a language evolves. For now, the reactions to my literal use of "psycho" and "psychic" are especially colorful, in ALL of my languages and culture compartments.

Glad you have your definitions figured, Leo. Perhaps, one day, your dictionary will be as celebrated as Daniel Webster's. I can hardly wait to buy my copy. I totally agree that soul and mind are good things to have, especially when I can keep them healthy.

i think of language use as the highest use of power in marketing. advertise advertise advertise. Slant it , slang it, defame it, cause stereo type and discrimination with it. Seen it with prejudice , beyond cultural divides. it’s like the Gods said give them language and unite them and humanity said “ah , language, how can i use that to my advantage in persuit of powernover others.

oops, perhaps my psyche is a touch psycho today and in in need of a psychic to guide me back from my parallel misnomer. triple hugs~

Marketing is a science onto itself. . . One I work pretty hard to avoid. I'm okay with the corporate tradition of keeping the engineering offices on the opposite side of the campus from the marketing department.

I love the notion of a psychic guide to get me through the days when my psyche is psycho. . . Can I keep my psycho psyche psychic guide on retainer?

I have a not-much-explored interest in Geography. How did that road end up there? And how did it get it's name? That sort of thing.

Trivia: A lot of "Water Streets" in Pennsylvania are a clue that there used to be a canal that was nearby.

I hope you explore that interest in Geography, Patti. It is an interest of many sub-interests. My absolute favorite thing about the internet is the ease with which I can explore far off places.

Maybe you can start with researching how many "Water Streets" in the world have lost the canals for which they are named. The world-wide shipping industry has waned enough to close down many, many shipping canals. Don't forget to respect the language of the region for looking for those Water Streets.

Just a brain fart. . . Ply gas mask, if needed.

I love all these comments! Reading them is sending my mind down all sorts of twisty entertaining paths I haven’t explored in such a long time.

Thinking..., (yes sometimes my psyche lets me focus on things other than psychoses) I find that meanings of words are always subjective to context which again makes me wonder if it’s another culprit in perversion of meaning.

These comments remind me of the story of the Tower Babel. James Morrow wrote an highly entertaining satirical book call “Bible Stories for Adults” in which one of the shorts was a modern day Tower of Babel scenario, in which God decided to fix his mistake by thinking confusing languages would work. We’ve obviously conquered the language barriers so in the story God gives the world perfect clarity. I can only imagine what might happen to the meanings of psych and it’s derivatives if we all had perfect clarity. I’m not sure if that would be a good thing or disasterous.

Hugs everyone!

Seems to me that every philosophy and religion I've ever been exposed to has at least one parable about the danger of taking words too seriously. My personal fave a simple one.

"Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."

Speaking the same language is no guarantee of communication. Ask any divorce lawyer.