sympathy

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A feeling of pity and sorrow for someone who is suffering.

   She felt great sympathy for the families who lost their homes.

2. 2
   noun

   The act of understanding and sharing another person's feelings.

   He listened to her problems with real sympathy.

3. 3
   noun

   Agreement with or support for an idea, opinion, or cause.

   Most of the workers were in sympathy with the strike.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Sympathy entered English in the late 16th century through Latin from Greek sum “with” and pathos “suffering, disease, feeling.”

Borrowed from Middle French sympathie, from Late Latin sympathīa (“feeling in common”), from Ancient Greek σῠμπᾰ́θειᾰ (sŭmpắtheiă, “fellow feeling”), from σῠμπᾰθής (sŭmpăthḗs, “affected by like feelings; exerting mutual influence, interacting”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-y”, nominal suffix). Equivalent to sym- (“acting or considered together”) + -pathy (“feeling”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary