Algedonic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /æld͡ʒɪˈdɒnɪk/

Definitions

1. Pertaining to or characterized by the experience of pleasure and pain together, often referred to in contexts of both emotion and physical sensation
2. Describing the interplay between pleasurable and painful feelings, particularly in relation to intense experiences or art
3. Relating to the simultaneous experience of joy and suffering, especially in philosophical or psychological discussions about human emotions

Etymology: Henry Rutgers Marshall, an American architect and psychologist, coined "algedonic" in 1894, joining two Greek words: "álgos", meaning pain, and "hēdonḗ", meaning pleasure. The result describes a state in which joy and suffering are felt at the same moment, a combination that ordinary vocabulary had no single word for. The Greek elements themselves are old and familiar. "Hēdonḗ" gave English "hedonism", and "álgos" appears in words for pain such as "neuralgia". Marshall's contribution was to bring them together into one term for a mixed feeling, which is why the word is a modern coinage built from classical parts rather than something the ancient Greeks used.