The word “sympathy” shares the same root as “empathy”—they both come from the Greek word pathos, which roughly means “feeling” or something that appeals to the emotions (according to Aristotle’s use of the word). The difference between the two words is in the prefix. Sympathy starts with sym-, meaning “together.” Sympathy means “feeling together.” Our emotions fuse with those of the person we sympathize with. We see things from their perspective. A certain degree of agreement is implied.
