Compassion

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəmˈpæʃ.ən/

Definitions

1. A feeling of deep sympathy and concern for others who are suffering, combined with a desire to help alleviate their pain
2. A profound sense of empathy towards others' struggles that motivates an individual to provide support and assistance to those in distress
3. An emotional response characterized by understanding and care for the suffering of others, prompting a willingness to offer help

Etymology: The most striking thing about "compassion" is that its core meaning is literally "suffering together." The Latin verb "compati" joined "com-" ("together") to "pati" ("to suffer"), and the same "pati" root gives us "passion" in its older sense of enduring something rather than desiring it. So the word that now names gentle care for someone else's pain was built from the idea of sharing the pain itself. The Latin verb passed into Church Latin as "compassio," meaning sympathy, and from there into Old French as "compassion." English borrowed it from French in the Middle English period, when the word was spelled "compassioun," and it has carried the sense of pity and fellow-feeling ever since. Because the word was formed from the same root as "passion," the two words sit side by side in English, one meaning a suffering shared with another and the other a feeling that once meant endurance.

Synonyms: sympathy, empathy, kindness

Antonyms: indifference, cruelty