ˈsī(ˌ)kē noun
Etymology: Greek psychē life, spirit, soul, self; akin to Greek psychein to breathe, blow, make cold, Sanskrit babhasti he blows
1. -s
a. : the vital principle of corporeal matter that is a distinct mental or spiritual entity coextensive with but independent of body or soma : soul , self , personality — compare élan vital
b. : the specialized cognitive, conative, and affective aspects of a psychosomatic unity : mind ; specifically : the totality of the id, ego, and superego including both conscious and unconscious components
2. -s
[French psyché, from Psyché, in Greco-Roman mythology a beautiful maiden personifying the soul who was loved by the god of love Eros, from Latin Psyche, from Greek Psychē, from psychē soul; perhaps from the full-length painting of Psyche by Raphael died 1520 Italian painter]
: cheval glass
3. capitalized
[New Latin, from Greek psychē butterfly, moth, soul]
: the type genus of Psychidae
Synonyms: see mind