Psychostasia
/ˌsaɪkoʊˈsteɪʒə/noun
The weighing of souls after death, especially in a judgment of the dead.
Did you know?Psychostasia echoes the ancient Greek image of divine scales weighing human destinies, a motif later associated with judgment after death.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhes-; *steh-
“Probable roots associated with breathing or life, and with standing or being fixed in place”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ψυχή (psychē)
“Breath, life, soul, or the animating principle of a person”
Ancient Greek
Greek
στάσις (stasis)
“A standing, position, or state; from a root meaning to stand”
Classical Greek
Greek
ψυχοστασία (psychostasia)
“The weighing of souls or destinies”
Late Antiquity
Greek
psychostasia
“A theological or mythical judgment involving the weighing of souls after death”
Modern English
English
psychostasia
“A rare learned term for the weighing of souls at judgment”