Psychiatry

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /saɪˈkaɪ.əˌtɹi/

Definitions

1. A specialized field of medicine that examines mental health conditions and provides therapeutic interventions and pharmacological treatments for psychological disorders
2. A branch of medicine focused on diagnosing and treating mental illnesses through therapies and medications while studying the complexities of human behavior
3. An area of medical practice dedicated to understanding mental health issues, offering both psychological treatment methods and medicinal therapies to alleviate symptoms

Etymology: The word "psychiatry" is built from two Greek elements, "psyche" (soul, mind) and "iatreia" (medical treatment, healing), the second being a relative of "iatros", "physician". Its immediate ancestor, though, is the French "psychiatrie", which English borrowed in 1846, when the word was new to the language. Ancient Greeks never had a term for a medical specialty devoted to the mind; the coinage belongs to the nineteenth century, assembled from classical parts. The French form was itself built on "psychiatre", a term that followed the same pattern. Forming new medical names from Greek roots was a standard practice in that era, which is why the word sounds older than it is. Its suffix "-iatry" appears in other specialties too, such as "podiatry" and "pediatry", which share the same "treatment" element.

Synonyms: mental health, psychology, therapy, psychoanalysis, treatment