-pathic
Americannoun
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a catamite
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a person who suffers; victim
adjective
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of or relating to a catamite
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of or relating to suffering
Usage
What does -pathic mean? The combining form -pathic is used like a suffix to denote an adjective related to nouns that end in -pathy, which can mean variously "disease," "suffering," or "treatment of disease.” The form -pathic is specifically used to mean "diseased." It is often used in medical terms, especially in pathology.The form -pathic ultimately comes from Greek pátheia, meaning “suffering” or “feeling.” The form is combined with the suffix -ic, from Latin -icus, which is used to denote an adjective.What are variants of -pathic?While -path doesn’t have any immediate variants, it is closely related to three other combining forms, -path, -pathia, and -pathy. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for all three forms.
Etymology
Origin of -pathic
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.