1885, in the criminal psychology sense, a back-formation from psychopathic.
The Daily Telegraph had, the other day, a long article commenting on a Russian woman who had murdered a little girl. A Dr. Balinsky prevailed upon the jury to give a verdict of acquittal, because she was a "psychopath." The Daily Telegraph regards this term as a new coinage, but it has been long known amongst Spiritualists, yet in another sense. ["The Medium and Daybreak," Jan. 16, 1885]
The case alluded to, and the means of acquittal, were briefly notorious in England and brought the word into currency in the modern sense.
实用例句
1. He's a psychopath, a killer.
他是个精神变态杀人者。来自柯林斯例句
2. She was abducted by a dangerous psychopath.
她被一个危险的精神变态狂给绑架了。来自柯林斯例句
3. Diagnosing him as a psychopath was not a simple matter.
诊断他是一个心理变态者并不是一件简单的事.来自互联网
4. Lana : Either an admirer or a psychopath, depending on who you ask.
仰慕者或精神病, 看你问谁了.来自互联网
5. The newspapers say there's a psychopath going around hacking up college co eds.
