philistine
pronunciation
How to pronounce philistine in British English:
UK [ ˈfɪlɪstaɪn]
How to pronounce philistine in American English:
US [ ˈfɪlɪstiːn]
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- Noun:
- a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits
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- Adjective:
- smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values
Word Origin
- philistine
- philistine: [16] The original Philistines were inhabitants of Philistia, an area in the southwestern corner of ancient Palestine. They were famed for their aggression and harrying tactics, and so the word Philistine was often used metaphorically for an ‘enemy into whose hands one might fall’, but the notion of a Philistine as a ‘boorish person’ is a comparatively recent development, not recorded in English until the 19th century.It appears to have originated in German universities (the German term is Philister), and the story goes that it comes from the use of the biblical quotation ‘the Philistines be upon thee, Samson’ as the text of a sermon delivered at the funeral service for a student killed in a town-and-gown riot in Jena.
- Philistine
- Old Testament people of coastal Palestine who made war on the Israelites, early 14c., from Old French Philistin, from Late Latin Philistinus, from Late Greek Philistinoi (plural), from Hebrew P'lishtim, "people of P'lesheth" ("Philistia"); compare Akkad. Palastu, Egyptian Palusata; the word probably is the people's name for itself.
- philistine (n.)
- "person deficient in liberal culture," 1827, originally in Carlyle, popularized by him and Matthew Arnold, from German Philister "enemy of God's word," literally "Philistine," inhabitants of a Biblical land, neighbors (and enemies) of Israel (see Philistine). Popularized in German student slang (supposedly first in Jena, late 17c.) as a contemptuous term for "townies," and hence, by extension, "any uncultured person." Philistine had been used in a humorous figurative sense of "the enemy" in English from c. 1600.
Example
- 1. Visual art has become qualitatively and quantitatively different from other cultural spheres : it is turning into a philistine game that has nothing to do with the serious creative endeavour epitomised by mantel .
- 2. A culture where running your own business is seen as an admirable and impressive achievement is likely to be more dynamic and successful than one where general opinion judges trade to be mercenary , dull and philistine .
- 3. Next time the topic will probably have shifted to madonna 's divorce , and you will be returned to the status you probably always had : smug , boring , philistine , too rich for your own good and an eccentric choice of husband for your nice , arty wife .