sympathía

Sympathía is a term used in several languages to denote a sense of shared feeling or affinity, rooted in the Greek word συμπάθεια (sympatheia), meaning “fellow feeling.” From Greek and Latin sympathia, the concept spread into many European languages, where it generally carries the core idea of compassion, empathy, or affinity among people, as well as a favorable disposition toward others.

In philosophy and rhetoric, sympathia has been used to describe a mutual or harmonious feeling that binds individuals or communities. It has appeared in discussions of social harmony, solidarity, and the sense of belonging to a larger human life. In some scholarly contexts, sympathía is invoked to explain how people perceive themselves as part of a shared moral or emotional order.

In modern Romance languages, the term appears in slightly different senses. In Spanish and Portuguese, simpatía or simpatía typically denotes sympathy in the sense of compassion or kindness, and also conveys sociability or charm. For example, in Spanish, alguien tiene simpatía can refer to both compassionate regard and a pleasant disposition. In Polish and other Slavic languages, sympatia denotes liking or affinity, and related adjectives describe someone as friendly or nice.

Usage today is primarily linguistic and cultural, with sympathía serving as a historical term for the idea of shared feeling or mutual regard across languages. While it remains relevant for studies of language, philosophy, and anthropology, it is less common as a specialized technical term in contemporary science.