Hylic (from Greek ὕλη (hylē) "matter") is the opposite of psychic (from Greek ψυχή (psychē) "soul").
In the gnostic belief system, hylics, also called somatics (from Greek σώμα (sōma) "body"), were the lowest order of the three types of human. The other two were the psychics and the pneumatics (from Gk πνεύμα (pneuma) "spirit, breath"). So humanity comprised matter-bound beings, matter-dwelling souls and the matter-free or immaterial spirits.
Somatics were deemed completely bound to matter. Matter, the material world, was considered evil by the gnostics. The material world was created by a demiurge, in some instances a blind, mad God, in others an army of rebellious angels as a trap for the spiritual Ennoia....