path-, patho-, -path-, -pathia, -pathic, -pathology, -pathetic, -pathize, -pathy

(Greek: feeling, sensation, perception; suffering, disease, or disorder; a system of treating diseases)

In medicine, some of these elements usually mean "someone who suffers from a disease of, or one who treats a disease"; so, they should not be confused with the words that mean "feeling" which are also shown on these pages even though both meanings come from the same Greek element.

telepathy (s) (noun), telepathies (pl)
1. Communication directly from one person's mind to another's without speech, writing, or other typical signs or symbols: "You must have been reading my mind,” Ruth said to her sister Holly on the phone. “I was just about to call you and then the phone rang and you were there! This must be an instance of telepathy!”
2. The ability to connect directly by psychic means with others via thoughts, feelings, or emotions at a distance without using normal sensations: June couldn’t explain why, but she had a definite sense that her twin brother, who lived about 1,000 miles away, needed her help and wanted her to come. She had heard about such communication by extrasensory means and decided this had to be telepathy.
The transference of thoughts or commands from one mind to another one.
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Mental communications someone without the usual physical channels.
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testopathy (s) (noun), testopathies (pl)
An outdated term for a disease of the testes: In his medical book, James read about testopathy that pertained to one of various testicular ailments in men.
theopathetic (adjective), more theopathetic, most theopathetic
Related to the sympathetic passive feeling excited by the contemplation of God; pertaining to the susceptibility to this feeling: A theopathetic sensation refers to the sensitiveness or responsiveness to a divine influence or to a feeling of pious sentiment.

A theopathetic emotion or excitement is caused by thinking about God.

theopathy (s) (noun), theopathies (pl)
An intense or abnormal absorption in matters pertaining to God: Theopathy is a sympathetic passive feeling excited by the contemplation of God, including a susceptibility to this feeling.
thoracopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
A rare expression for a disorder of the thorax or of the thoracic organs or tissues: Thoracopathy applies especially to disorders in the lungs.
thrombocytopathy (s) (noun), thrombocytopathies (pl)
A general term for any disorder of the thrombocytes; Thrombocytopathy is an ailment of the coagulating mechanism that results from dysfunction of the blood platelets.
thrombopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
A nonspecific term applied to disorders of blood platelets: Thrombopathy can deveopt in deficient thromboplastin, which is a substance in tissues, platelets, and leukocytes and is required for the coagulation of blood.
thymopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
1. A disease of the thymus: Thymopathy is an ailment of the ductless, gland-like organ situated in the upper thorax near the throat.
2. A mental disorder: In his old medical book, Mr. Hathaway searched for the term thymopathy, which evidently also meant to be a disease or affliction of the mind.
thyropathy (s) (noun), thyropathies (pl)
A disorder of the thyroid gland: A few thyropathies of the thyroid are Graves' disease, thyroid nodules, goiter, which is an enlarged thyroid, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
tonsillopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
An infection of the tonsil: Judy had a very sore throat, and her doctor told her that it was a condition of tonsillopathy and should be treated at once!
toxicopathic (adjective) (not comparable)
Concerning something that causes an illness due to poison: When Mary took her very sick cat to the veterinarian to find out what the problem was, she was informed that her cat evidently had eaten some kind of toxicopathic substance or food and should stay in the animal hospital until it was healthy again.
toxicopathy (s) (noun), toxicopathies (pl)
A disease caused by the action of a poison or toxin; toxicosis: In order to avoid further cases of toxicopathy, the farm animals should be given an alternative type of feed, especially it the cases that were caused by chronic poisoning.
tracheopathia, tracheopathy (s) (noun); tracheopathias; tracheopathies (pl)
Any disease of the trachea: Since the elderly Mr. Brown was having difficulties in breathing, he was examined by a specialist who diagnosed his problem as a condition of tracheopathia, which was an ailment of his windpipe that allowed air to pass from the larynx to the bronchi.
traumatic encephalopathy, boxer's encephalopathy (s) (noun); traumatic encephalopathies; boxer's encephalopathies (pl)
A syndrome due to cumulative punishment absorbed by athletes: A traumatic encephalopathy can occur with boxers, wrestlers, or football players and is characterized by the general slowing of mental functions, occasional bouts of confusion, and scattered memory loss.
traumatopathy (s) (noun), traumatopathies (pl)
Any medical condition resulting from wounds or injuries: The the doctors were treating a man with traumatopathies as a consequence of a violent confrontation with someone in front of a store the evening before.

Quiz You can find self-scoring quizzes over many of the words in this subject area by going to this Vocabulary Quizzes page.