Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🧑‍⚕️ A psychiatrist 🧠 Mind-related prefix 📚 Psychology studies
psy

psy

9.3
The study of the mind and people's behaviour
  • noun
  • /saɪ/
  • Informal
translation icon : psicología
  • The average PSY 11 class on this urban community college campus has approximately 40 students enrolled at the start of the semester.

Examples

  • Most PSY 11 students are first-year and often first-semester community college students.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Many students are excited to take PSY courses because they find the study of human behavior fascinating.

  • She decided to declare PSY as her major after enjoying her introductory psychology class.

  • In college, understanding PSY concepts can help students better relate to their peers.

Synonyms

psychology
vspsy
  • Specialized
286 4.3

The study of people's thoughts, feelings, and behavior

is a short informal label rather than the full scientific field name
psych
vspsy
  • Informal
41 8.1

The study of the mind and how people think and behave

is a short abbreviation used instead of the full subject name
psychological science
vspsy
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A field that studies how people think, feel, and act

is an informal short form not the lengthy formal scientific term
psychol.
vspsy
  • Specialized
8.1

A short form for the study of the mind or for someone who studies it

is a casual abbreviation used more in everyday informal contexts

Surface Forms

psy singular
pys plural
psys plural

Etymology

Psy used for the subject is short for psychology, and it goes back to the Greek psyche, meaning 'mind'. So when students say they study psy, they mean the study of the 'mind' and human behaviour.