Related Searches
on Ask.com
Browse Nearby Entries
philosopher
6 dictionary results for: philosopher
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
[fi-los-uh-fer] 
phi⋅los⋅o⋅pher
[fi-los-uh-fer] 
ə –noun
| 1. | a person who offers views or theories on profound questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other related fields. |
| 2. | a person who is deeply versed in philosophy. |
| 3. | a person who establishes the central ideas of some movement, cult, etc. |
| 4. | a person who regulates his or her life, actions, judgments, utterances, etc., by the light of philosophy or reason. |
| 5. | a person who is rationally or sensibly calm, esp. under trying circumstances. |
| 6. | Obsolete. an alchemist or occult scientist. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Cite This Source
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| phi·los·o·pher
(fĭ-lŏs'ə-fər) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English philosophre, from alteration of Old French philosophe, from Latin philosophus, from Greek philosophos, lover of wisdom, philosopher : philo-, philo- + sophiā, knowledge, learning.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
philosopher
philosopher
O.E. philosophe, from L. philosophus, from Gk. philosophos "philosopher," lit. "lover of wisdom," from philos "loving" + sophos "wise, a sage."
"Pythagoras was the first who called himself philosophos, instead of sophos, 'wise man,' since this latter term was suggestive of immodesty." [Klein]Modern form with -r appears c.1325, from an Anglo-Fr. or O.Fr. variant of philosophe, with an agent-noun ending. Philosophy also was used of alchemy in Middle Ages, hence Philosophers' stone (c.1386, transl. M.L. lapis philosophorum, c.1130), a reputed solid substance supposed by alchemists to change baser metals into gold or silver; also identified with the elixir and thus given the attribute of prolonging life indefinitely and curing wounds and disease. (Fr. pierre philosophale, Ger. der Stein der Weisen).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| philosopher | |
noun | |
| 1. | a specialist in philosophy |
| 2. | a wise person who is calm and rational; someone who lives a life of reason with equanimity |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
philosopher
philosopher
Someone who engages in philosophy. Some examples of philosophers are Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and Plato.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Philosopher
Phi*los"o*pher\, n. [OE. philosophre, F. philosophe, L. philosophus, Gr. ?; ? loving + ? wise. Cf. Philosophy.]1. One who philosophizes; one versed in, or devoted to, philosophy. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. --Acts xvii. 18. 2. One who reduces the principles of philosophy to practice in the conduct of life; one who lives according to the rules of practical wisdom; one who meets or regards all vicissitudes with calmness. 3. An alchemist. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Philosopher's stone, an imaginary stone which the alchemists formerly sought as instrument of converting the baser metals into gold.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
