philistine

CEFRC1

/ˈfɪlɪstaɪn/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person seen as uninterested in art or culture.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Showing little interest in art or culture.

Examples

  • He hit the Philistine in the forehead.

  • Tom is a philistine.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /-lə-/
  • /-stin/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An opponent (of the speaker, writer, etc); an enemy, a foe.

  2. In German universities: a person not associated with the university; a non-academic or non-student; a townsperson.

  3. 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.

More examples

In context

  • It is Shakespearean, you Philistine!

  • 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 the Philistines.

  • 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.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank art collector destroyed the valuable painting because he hated modern art.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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”), no...