Philistine
Originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines.
Adjective
- Originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines.
Synonyms: Philistian
- Alternative letter-case form of philistine (“ignorant or uneducated; specifically, lacking appreciation for or antagonistic towards art or culture, and having pedestrian tastes”).
- [Robert] Walpole, moreover, left England not only more corrupt than he found it, but crasser and more Philistine. - 1948 September 13, “18th Century England”, in Henry R[obinson] Luce, editor, Life, volume 25, number...
- Visitors to the area are strongly recommended to have a look around the castle, for even the most Philistine of wild water canoeists cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous armoury, fine paintings and wonderful...
- Miles was taken seriously by the great dames of Manhattan society and was not scorned by even the most Philistine of their husbands. - 2002, Louis Auchincloss, “The Heiress”, in Manhattan Monologues, New York, N.Y.:...
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English Philistyne, Philisten [and other forms], from Old English Filistina (genitive plural), from Old French Philistin (modern French Philistin) and Late Latin Philistinus, from Koine Greek Φυλιστῖνοι (Phulistînoi), a variant of Φυλιστιίμ (Phulistiím), Φυλιστιείμ (Phulistieím) (compare Koine Greek Παλαιστῖνοι (Palaistînoi)), from Hebrew פְּלִשְׁתִּים (p'lishtím, plural noun), from פְּלִשְׁתִּי (p'lishtí, “Philistine”, adjective), from פְּלֶשֶׁת (p'léshet, “Philistia”). An Anatolian origin should be considered, compare Hittite 𒁄𒄭𒅖 (pal-ḫi-iš /palḫis/, “wide, broad”), nominalized as lowland, plain + 𒊭𒀀𒆠𒄑𒍣 (ša-a-ki-ez-zi /šākizzi/, “seeks out”), nominalized as explorer, colonist, which would yield something like palḫis-sak or palḫis-sku. In light of the Philistines’ likely Aegean origins, several scholars have proposed Greek etymologies for the...
Forms
Noun
- A non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia, a region in the southwest Levant in the Middle East.
- Then the lords of the Philiſtines gathered them together, for to offer a great ſacrifice vnto Dagon their god, and to reioyce; for they ſaid, Our god hath deliuered Samſon our enemy into our hand. - 1611, The Holy...
- Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of...
Synonyms: Philistee Philistian Palestine
- An opponent (of the speaker, writer, etc); an enemy, a foe.
- In very truth what could poor old Abbot Hugo do? A frail old man; and the Philistines were upon him,—that is to say, the Hebrews. - 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “Abbot Hugo”, in Past and Present, American edition,...
- In German universities: a person not associated with the university; a non-academic or non-student; a townsperson.
- Alternative letter-case form of philistine (“a person who is ignorant or uneducated; specifically, a person who lacks appreciation of or is antagonistic towards art or culture, and who has pedestrian tastes”).
- It is Shakespearean, you Philistine!
- [W]hen he [Christoph Friedrich Nicolai] wrote against [Immanuel] Kant's philosophy, without comprehending it; and judged of poetry as he judged of Brunswick mum, by its utility, many people thought him wrong. A man of...
- Not only was he [Heinrich Heine] not one of Mr. [Thomas] Carlyle's "respectable" people, he was profoundly disrespectable; and not even the merit of not being a Philistine can make up for a man's being that. - 1865,...