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Words with the root path

path means “feeling, suffering, disease”, from Greekpathos.

15 examples of the root “path”

  1. sympathysym- (together)feeling together with another
  2. empathyem- (in)feeling oneself into another
  3. apathya- (without)without feeling or emotion
  4. pathetic-ic (adj.)arousing pity or suffering
  5. pathos(bare root)quality evoking pity or sadness
  6. telepathytele- (far)feeling or sensing across distance
  7. antipathyanti- (against)strong feeling against something
  8. osteopathyosteo- (bone)treatment of bone-related disease
  9. homeopathyhomeo- (similar)treating disease with similar substances
  10. psychopathpsycho- (mind)one with diseased or disordered mind
  11. sociopathsocio- (social)one with antisocial feeling disorder
  12. neuropathyneuro- (nerve)disease or damage of nerves
  13. allopathyallo- (other)treating disease with differing remedies
  14. pathology-logy (study)scientific study of disease
  15. idiopathicidio- (self/own) + -icdisease arising from unknown cause

How path works

The root 'path' typically forms nouns ending in '-pathy' (naming a feeling, condition, or system of treatment) or '-path' (naming a person), and adjectives with '-pathic' or '-pathetic.' It appears unchanged in spelling across its compounds, though stress and pronunciation shift with suffixes.

Watch out: The word 'pathway' contains 'path' meaning a physical trail, not feeling or disease, so it is a false friend sharing only spelling, not meaning.

To see roots combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.

Other Greek and Latin roots

Questions people ask

What does the root “path” mean?

path means “feeling, suffering, disease”. It comes from Greek (pathos). The root 'path' typically forms nouns ending in '-pathy' (naming a feeling, condition, or system of treatment) or '-path' (naming a person), and adjectives with '-pathic' or '-pathetic.' It appears unchanged in spelling across its compounds, though stress and pronunciation shift with suffixes.

What are some examples of words with the root “path”?

sympathy, empathy, apathy, pathetic, pathos, telepathy, antipathy, osteopathy. The full list of 15 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.

Which words look like they have the root “path” but don’t?

The word 'pathway' contains 'path' meaning a physical trail, not feeling or disease, so it is a false friend sharing only spelling, not meaning.

What is a root word?

A root is the core of a word that carries its main meaning. Many English roots come from Latin or Greek and cannot stand alone, like port (“carry”) in transport and portable.