Dictionary

Philistine en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /ˈfɪlɪˌstaɪn/ (General-American)
• /-stin/ (General-American)
• /ˈfɪlɪstaɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Received-Pronunciation) audio
• /fɪˈlɪstin/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• (General-American) audio
• /-lə-/ (General-American)

Etymology

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 ethnonym: * Thomas Schneider proposes that it is derived from an archaic Greek term πλωϝιστοι (plōwistoi, “sailors,seafarers”) (cf. Mycenaean Greek 𐀡𐀫𐀹𐀵 (po-ro-wi-to /⁠plōwistos⁠/)). * Jan Driessen connects the Philistines with the people of the settlement of Pyla, yielding the term Πυλαϝαστοι (Pulawastoi, “inhabitants of Pyla”). Furthermore, Driessen suggests a link between the Philistine migration to the Levant and the abandonment of Pyla which occurred within the timespan described in the Medinet Habu reliefs. The English word is cognate with Akkadian 𒆳𒉿𒇺𒋫 (ᴷᵁᴿpi-lis-ta, “Pilistu”), 𒆳𒉺𒆷𒊍𒌓 (ᴷᵁᴿpa-la-as-tu₂ /⁠Palastu⁠/), 𒆳𒉿𒇺𒋫𒀀𒀀 (ᴷᵁᴿpi-liš-ta-a-a /⁠Pilištayu⁠/, “(people) of the Pilištu lands”), and is a doublet of Palestine. The archaic noun plural form Philistim is from Middle English Philistiim [and other forms], from Late Latin Philisthiim, from Koine Greek Φυλιστιίμ (Phulistiím), Φυλιστιείμ (Phulistieím); see further above. The adjective is derived from the noun. For the etymology of the "ignorant person" sense, see philistine.

Meanings

1. (historical) Originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines.
2. (alt-of) Alternative letter-case form of philistine (“ignorant or uneducated; specifically, lacking appreciation for or antagonistic towards art or culture, and having pedestrian tastes”).
   alt of philistine
   • 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.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 33:
   • [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 11, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 124:
   • 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 furnishings that seem to outclass all other museums and castles in the North East. 1991, Nick Doll, Canoeist’s Guide to the North East […], Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone Press, →ISBN, page 25:

Forms

Synonyms

Philistian

Translations (18)

pl filistyński (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · ru филисти́мский (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · oc Filistèu (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · ko 블레셋 (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · fi filistealainen (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · la Philistīnus (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · it filisteo (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · la Philistiim (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · ga Filistíneach (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · nl Filistijns (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · ca filisteu (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · el φιλισταϊκός (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · fr Philistin (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · la Philistaeus (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · hi पलिश्ती (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · ko 필리스티나의 (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · la Philisthaeus (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines) · la Philisthiim (originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines)

Philistine en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio
• /ˈfɪlɪˌstaɪn/ (General-American)
• /-stin/ (General-American)
• /ˈfɪlɪstaɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Received-Pronunciation) audio
• /fɪˈlɪstin/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• (General-American) audio
• /-lə-/ (General-American)

Etymology

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 ethnonym: * Thomas Schneider proposes that it is derived from an archaic Greek term πλωϝιστοι (plōwistoi, “sailors,seafarers”) (cf. Mycenaean Greek 𐀡𐀫𐀹𐀵 (po-ro-wi-to /⁠plōwistos⁠/)). * Jan Driessen connects the Philistines with the people of the settlement of Pyla, yielding the term Πυλαϝαστοι (Pulawastoi, “inhabitants of Pyla”). Furthermore, Driessen suggests a link between the Philistine migration to the Levant and the abandonment of Pyla which occurred within the timespan described in the Medinet Habu reliefs. The English word is cognate with Akkadian 𒆳𒉿𒇺𒋫 (ᴷᵁᴿpi-lis-ta, “Pilistu”), 𒆳𒉺𒆷𒊍𒌓 (ᴷᵁᴿpa-la-as-tu₂ /⁠Palastu⁠/), 𒆳𒉿𒇺𒋫𒀀𒀀 (ᴷᵁᴿpi-liš-ta-a-a /⁠Pilištayu⁠/, “(people) of the Pilištu lands”), and is a doublet of Palestine. The archaic noun plural form Philistim is from Middle English Philistiim [and other forms], from Late Latin Philisthiim, from Koine Greek Φυλιστιίμ (Phulistiím), Φυλιστιείμ (Phulistieím); see further above. The adjective is derived from the noun. For the etymology of the "ignorant person" sense, see philistine.

Meanings

1. (historical) A non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia, a region in the southwest Levant in the Middle East.
   • 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. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 15:
   • 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 Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 16:23, column 1:
2. (figuratively, plural-normally, qualifier:frequently humorous) 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, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk), page 44:
3. (historical, qualifier:university slang) In German universities: a person not associated with the university; a non-academic or non-student; a townsperson.
4. (alt-of) 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”).
   alt of philistine
   • 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, Matthew Arnold, “Heinrich Heine”, in Essays in Criticism, London: Macmillan and Co. […], →OCLC, pages 184–185:
   • Even the most pig-headed vestry-man feels that something unpleasant has been said about him when he has been called a Philistine, though he may have the vaguest possible conception of its precise meaning. [...] It is used so vaguely by people who are themselves Philistines of the deepest dye, that it is in danger of losing its meaning. 1868 July 18, “Nicknames”, in Every Saturday: A Journal of Choice Reading, Selected from Foreign Current Literature, volume VI, number 133, Boston, Mass.: Fields, Osgood, & Co., successors to Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 92, column 1:
   • Colored Pencils: 'I'm sick and tired of Philistines like you ERASING all of my hard work, man.' 2020 July 17, Intelligent Systems, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Nintendo, level/area: Overlook Tower:
   • [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 such spiritual habilitudes is now by the Germans called a Philister, Philistine: Nicolai earned for himself the painful pre-eminence of being Erz-Philister, Arch-Philistine. [...] At present the literary Philistine seldom shows, never parades, himself in Germany; and when he does appear, he is in the last stage of emaciation. 1824, Thomas Carlyle, “Goethe”, in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, edited by H[enry] D[uff] Traill, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship and Travels: Translated from the German of Goethe […] (The Works of Thomas Carlyle; XXIII), centenary edition, volume I, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, footnote 1, page 22:
   • If it were not for this purging effect wrought upon our minds by culture, the whole world, the future as well as the present, would inevitably belong to the Philistines. 1867 July, Matthew Arnold, “Culture and Its Enemies”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XVI, number 91, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 42:
   • It is Shakespearean, you Philistine!
   • Mr. [Matthew] Arnold has no patience with the middle-class ‘Philistines’ the dullards and haters of light, who care only for what is material and practical. 1880, “MATTHEW ARNOLD”, in Robert Chambers, Robert Carruthers, editors, Chambers’s Cyclopædia of English Literature […], 3rd edition, volume VII, New York, N.Y.: American Book Exchange, […], →OCLC, page 155:
   • "Oh, the Philistine! The boorish Philistine!" he murmured; [...] 1905 July 1, F. H. Bolton, “That Poetic Johnny”, in The Boy’s Own Paper, volume XXVII, number 1381, London: “Boy’s Own Paper” Office, […], →OCLC, page 635, column 2:

Forms

Relateds

Palestine · Philistia

Synonyms

Philistian · Palestine · Philistee · philister · Philister

Translations (58)

de Philister (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ko 필리스틴 사람 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ca filisteu (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · nb filister (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · nn filistar (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · la Philisthiim (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · pt filisteu (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ca filistea (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · el Φιλισταίος (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · pt filisteia (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · fo filistari (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · hi पलिश्ती (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ko 필리스티나인 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · eo filiŝto (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · grc Φυλιστιείμ (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · fr Philistine (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · la Philisthaeus (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · nl Filistijnse (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ko 필리스티나 사람 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ja ペリシテ人 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · syc ܦܠܫܬܝ̈ܐ (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · it filisteo (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ru филисти́млянин (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · pl Filistyn (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · hy փղշտացի (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ko 블레셋 사람 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ga Filistíneach (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · yi פּלשתּי (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · pl Filistynka (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · swb Mufilistini (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · it filistea (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · nl Filistijn (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · oc Filistèa (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · fi filistealainen (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · cmn 非利士人 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · la Philistaeus (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · es filistea (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · sw Mfilisti (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · cs Filištín (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · de Philisterin (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · es filisteo (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · sga filistín (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · tum muFilisiti (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · la Philistīnus (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · he פלשתי (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · he פְּלִשְׁתִּית (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · la Philistiim (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · kk філістір (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ar فلستيون (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · cmn 培肋舍特人 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · oc Filistèu (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · da filister (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · nv Filístiya diné (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · sv filisté (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · grc Φιλισταῖος (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · fr Philistin (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · hu filiszteus (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia) · ko 블레셋인 (non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia)