Nonpsychic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a state or characteristic of lacking psychic abilities or phenomena; not exhibiting mental powers beyond normal human capacity; devoid of supernatural intuition
2. Referring to entities, qualities, or conditions that do not involve extrasensory perception or paranormal insight; ordinary mental function without mystical influence; absent of telepathic or clairvoyant traits
3. Pertaining to individuals or things without any psychic or supernatural faculties; showing no evidence of mind-reading, prophecy, or other paranormal capabilities; limited to natural sensory and cognitive skills

Etymology: "Nonpsychic" is a plain formation: the prefix "non-", meaning "not", attached to "psychic." That adjective comes from Greek "psykhikos," meaning "of the soul or breath," from "psykhē," the word for soul, breath, or life. Over the centuries, "psychic" shifted from describing the mind and soul in a general sense toward describing extrasensory or supernatural powers, and "nonpsychic" inherits that narrower sense, marking someone or something as lacking those powers. The pattern is a productive one in English. "Non-" can be attached to almost any adjective to negate it, which is why coinages like this appear whenever a writer needs a precise contrast. Here the contrast is with people who claim mediumship, telepathy, or intuition, so the word is most often found in discussions of those claims, where it separates the ordinary from the extraordinary.

Synonyms: normal, nonparanormal

Antonyms: psychic, paranormal