
C A T H A R S I S :
Prononc. [kataʀsis]. n.,
1. Antiquity : Purification of passions (according to Aristotle) in the spectator of a dramatic performance.
2. Psychiatry : Therapy using the externalization of experienced traumas.
Etymology: XIXe century, originally "catharsis," a term in medicine meaning "natural or artificial evacuation." Borrowed from Greek katharsis, meaning "purification, purgation."
