Odic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or influenced by a supposed vital force that pervades the universe
2. Characterized by the qualities or energies attributed to this force
3. Describing phenomena or experiences connected to the concept of this life-energy

Etymology: The adjective "odic" belongs to a strange episode in nineteenth-century science. Its root is "od," a name coined around 1845 by the German chemist Karl von Reichenbach for a supposed invisible force that he believed flowed through living bodies, magnets, crystals and the sun. Reichenbach claimed to detect it through sensitive people who could see glowing emanations in darkened rooms. The force was never shown to exist, and the mainstream scientists of the day rejected it, but the word outlived the theory. "Od" was the basis for the adjective, which is formed by adding the suffix "-ic," meaning "relating to," to produce a term for anything connected with this force. The adjective was modelled after the German "odisch," the form Reichenbach's followers used in their writings. Reichenbach's name for the force was itself partly drawn from the Norse god Odin, a connection he apparently intended as an allusion to the force's pervasive nature.

Synonyms: spiritual, mystical, ethereal, numinous, magical

Antonyms: mundane, ordinary, secular, physical, material