Library / English Dictionary

PHILISTINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A member of an Aegean people who settled ancient Philistia around the 12th century BC

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("Philistine" is a kind of...):

denizen; dweller; habitant; indweller; inhabitant (a person who inhabits a particular place)

Derivation:

Philistine (of or relating to ancient Philistia or its culture or its people)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

Synonyms:

anti-intellectual; lowbrow; philistine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("philistine" is a kind of...):

pleb; plebeian (one of the common people)

Derivation:

philistine (smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values

Synonyms:

anti-intellectual; philistine

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

nonintellectual (not intellectual)

Derivation:

philistine (a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of or relating to ancient Philistia or its culture or its people

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

Philistia (an ancient region on the coast of southwestern Palestine that was strategically located on a trade route between Syria and Egypt; important in biblical times)

Philistine (a member of an Aegean people who settled ancient Philistia around the 12th century BC)

Derivation:

Philistine (a member of an Aegean people who settled ancient Philistia around the 12th century BC)

Credits