philhellenic

philhellenic

English

Etymology

From philhellene +‎ -ic.

Adjective

philhellenic (comparative more philhellenic, superlative most philhellenic)

1. Loving Greece or Greek culture. [from 19th c.]
   • 2007 December 2, “The Greeks”, in New York Times‎:

     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.

2. (now historical) Specifically, supportive of Greek national independence. [from 19th c.]
   • 2019, Roderick Beaton, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, Penguin 2020, p. 101:

     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.