On Psychos

I can't seem to face up to the facts
I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax
I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire
Don't touch me I'm a real live wire

Psycho killer
Qu'est-ce que c'est?
Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far far better
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away

-Talking Heads, "Psycho Killer"

One of the first classes in my doctoral program was a History of Psychology class, and on the first day of the first class the instructor asked if anyone knew what the word "psychology" meant. Some students ventured guesses like, "the study of the mind", and "the study of cognition", etc.. Having grown up with a good old fashioned Liberal Arts education, I knew it meant the study of the soul.

"Psychology" is the study of the "psyche", the "animating spirit". 

The Online Etymology Dictionary does a fine job of explaining it.

psyche (n.)

1640s, "animating spirit," from Latin psyche, from Greek psykhe "the soul, mind, spirit; breath; life, one's life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body; understanding" (personified as Psykhe, the beloved of Eros), akin to psykhein "to blow, cool," from PIE root *bhes- "to blow, to breathe" (source also of Sanskrit bhas-), "Probably imitative" [Watkins].

Also in ancient Greek, "departed soul, spirit, ghost," and often represented symbolically as a butterfly or moth. The word had extensive sense development in Platonic philosophy and Jewish-influenced theological writing of St. Paul (compare spirit (n.)). Meaning "human soul" is from 1650s. In English, psychological sense "mind," is attested by 1910.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=psyche&allowed_in_frame=0

 

It saddens me that we have lost this meaning, replacing it instead with the more common colloquial usage of "psycho" to indicate a crazed, often violent individual, as in the term "psycho-killer". Which, if we consider the etymology, really means "soul-killer". Intriguing, no? Ok, probably just to word nerds like me. But there is always a bit of residual meaning left even when the popular use of a word changes dramatically. So you might want to think about it the next time you call your ex a "*%#$ing soul", I mean "*%#$ing psycho".