To understand and share the feelings of another person; to put yourself in someone else's emotional situation.
A surprisingly recent word, coined in 1909 by psychologist Edward Titchener as a translation of German 'Einfühlung' (literally 'feeling into'). He combined Greek 'em-' (into) + 'pathos' (feeling, suffering) to create a new English term for this psychological concept. Before 1909, English had 'sympathy' (feeling with someone) but no word for actually feeling what someone else feels. German philosophers and psychologists had been discussing 'Einfühlung' for decades before English caught up.
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