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The combining form -pathy is used like a suffix with a variety of meanings, including “suffering,” “disease,” and “methods of treating disease.” It is widely used in medical terms, especially in pathology.

The form -pathy comes from the Greek ��á�ٳ�𾱲�, meaning “suffering” or “feeling.” It shares an origin with the English word pathos. You can learn more about the meaning of pathos at our entry for the word. The words antipathy, apathy, empathy, and sympathy also share a root with the Greek ��á�ٳ�𾱲�.

What are variants of -pathy?

An obsolete variant of -pathy is -pathia, as in psychopathia. This form is also closely related to two other combining forms: -path and -pathic. Want to know more? Check out our �������t¶��s That Use entries for all three forms.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -pathy is psychopathy, “a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.”

The first portion of the word, psycho-, means “psyche” or “psychological,” from the Greek ���ȳ����ḗ, meaning “mind.” As we have seen, -pathy means “disease.” Psychopathy literally translates to “mind disease.”

What are some words that use the combining form -pathy?

• adenopathy
• arthropathy
• capillaropathy
• cardiopathy
• celiopathy
• choroidopathy
• cytopathy
• dermatopathy
• dermopathy
• enteropathy
• erotopathy
• gastropathy
• gynecopathy
• hemopathy
• idiopathy (using the equivalent form of -pathy in Greek)
• keratopathy
• lalopathy
• lymphopathy
• maculopathy
• mastopathy
• mazopathy
• myelopathy
• nephropathy
• onychopathy
• orchiopathy
• otopathy
• phonopathy
• renopathy
• sociopathy
• splanchnopathy
• splenopathy
• spondylopathy
• stomatopathy
• telepathy
• trichopathy
• ureteropathy
• uropathy
• vasculopathy

What are some other forms that -pathy may be commonly confused with?

• -parous
• -penia
• -phagia
• -phasia
• -phony
• -plasia

The combining form oto- means “ear.” With this in mind, what kind of medical condition is otopathy?