apathetic
/ˌæpəˈθɛtɪk/adjective
showing little or no interest, feeling, or concern
From Greek, via Latin and French apathy (Freedom from suffering or emotion).
Lineage
apathy
-ic
The story
The oldest sense of apathy was almost the opposite of the modern one: Greek ἀπάθεια meant freedom from suffering, a kind of emotional invulnerability prized by some ancient philosophers. Its first piece, a-, means “without”; the second, páthos, is the source of words such as pathos and sympathy, carrying the idea of feeling or suffering. French apathie passed into English around 1600, and by 1733 the word had shifted toward the familiar idea of indifference. Then English added -ic, the same adjective-making ending seen in words such as intrinsic, producing apathetic; a form spelled apathetick was recorded in 1744. The twist is that what began as armor against suffering came to describe someone who seems not to feel much at all.
Words from the same roots
apathy · Ancient Greek, via Latin and French, ‘Freedom from suffering or emotion; later, indifference.’