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philistinism

 - 3 dictionary results

phil⋅is⋅tine

  [fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen]
Use philistinism in a Sentence
–noun
1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.
2. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia.
–adjective
3. (sometimes initial capital letter) lacking in or hostile to culture.
4. smugly commonplace or conventional.
5. (initial capital letter) of or belonging to the ancient Philistines.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL Philistīnī (pl.) < LGk Philistînoi < Heb pəlishtīm

Related forms:
phil⋅is⋅tin⋅ism  [fil-uh-stee-niz-uhm, -stahy-, fi-lis-tuh-niz-uhm, -tee-] , noun

Synonyms:
1. Babbitt, vulgarian. 3. lowbrow.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To philistinism
Phil·is·tin·ism also phi·lis·tin·ism   (fĭl'ĭ-stē-nĭz'əm, fĭ-lĭs'tə-nĭz'əm, -tē-nĭz'əm)   
n.  An attitude of smug ignorance and conventionalism, especially toward artistic and cultural values.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

philistine 
"person deficient in liberal culture," 1827, originally in Carlyle, popularized by him and Matthew Arnold, from Ger. Philister "enemy of God's word," lit. "Philistine," inhabitants of a Biblical land, neighbors (and enemies) of Israel (see Philistine). Popularized in Ger. 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 fig. sense of "the enemy" in Eng. from c.1600.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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