Dictionary

philhellenic en · ADJ

Etymology

From phil- + Hellenic.

Meanings

1. Loving Greece or Greek culture.
   • These ancient treasures, together with historic photographs of the major excavations, aerial panoramas of splendid sites, old watercolors and lithographs, and 19th-century architectural renderings, are enough to leave a deep impression on anyone with a drop of philhellenic blood. 2007 December 2, “The Greeks”, in New York Times:
2. (historical) Specifically, supportive of Greek national independence.
   • In France, where philhellenic sentiment reached a peak at this time, the government was secretly building warships for the Egyptian fleet and even sent French officers as advisors to accompany them when they went into service in 1827. 2019, Roderick Beaton, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, Penguin, published 2020, page 101:

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