ABSTRACT
Power of identifying oneself mentally with (and so fully comprehending) a person or object of contemplation.
Derived initially from the Greek 'empiateia' (meaning 'passionate affection') and later from the German language, current usage of the word empathy comes from the German words ein meaning 'in' and fuhlung meaning 'feeling' (from the Greek pathos, literally meaning 'suffering', also related to the Greek penthos, meaning 'grief'). Thus we could elaborate by saying that empathy means the power of projecting your own personality into, fully comprehending and being in-feeling with another - possibly with their suffering or grief. The Concise Oxford Dictionary also refers us to the word sympathy, which is defined as a '(capacity for) being simultaneously affected with the same feeling as another; tendency to share or state of sharing another person's emotion or sensation or condition; mental participation with another in his trouble or with another's trouble; compassion or approval (for); agreement (with) in opinion or desire', and the word sympathetic is defined as 'touches the feelings by association, etc.'. The meaning of the prefix sym is derived from 'alike' or 'as'.
