Solipsism
/ˈsoʊ.lɪp.sɪ.zəm/noun
The view that only one’s own mind is sure to exist.
Did you know?Solipsism was coined in modern philosophical Latin from roots meaning “self alone,” turning a private thought into a word for the terrifying idea that all reality could be inside one mind.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swé
“self, one's own”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁el-
“other, beyond”
Latin
Latin
solus
“alone, single”
Latin
Latin
ipse
“self, himself, itself”
19th Century
New Latin
solipsismus
“the doctrine that only the self can be known to exist”
Modern English
English
solipsism
“the philosophical theory that only one's own mind is certain to exist”