σοφιστής
Ancient Greek
Etymology
From σοφίζω (sophízō, “to become wise”) + -τής (-tḗs), from σοφός (sophós, “wise”).
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /so.pʰis.tɛ̌ːs/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /so.pʰisˈte̝s/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /so.ɸisˈtis/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /so.fisˈtis/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /so.fisˈtis/
Noun
σοφῐστής • (sophistḗs) m (genitive σοφῐστοῦ); first declension (Attic, Ionic, Koine)
- A master of one's craft
- One who is wise, prudent, a philosopher
- teacher, tutor
- (slang, derogatory) One who makes a profit off of false wisdom: cheat, swindler
Usage notes
The reputation of the teachers at Athens came into decline in the fifth century BC, and thus came the connotation of cheat. This varies with time in relation to the general approval or disapproval of the paid teachers.
Inflection
First declension of ὁ σοφῐστής; τοῦ σοφῐστοῦ (Attic)
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ὁ σοφῐστής ho sophistḗs | τὼ σοφῐστᾱ́ tṑ sophistā́ | οἱ σοφῐσταί hoi sophistaí | ||||||||||
Genitive | τοῦ σοφῐστοῦ toû sophistoû | τοῖν σοφῐσταῖν toîn sophistaîn | τῶν σοφῐστῶν tôn sophistôn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῷ σοφῐστῇ tôi sophistêi | τοῖν σοφῐσταῖν toîn sophistaîn | τοῖς σοφῐσταῖς toîs sophistaîs | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὸν σοφῐστήν tòn sophistḗn | τὼ σοφῐστᾱ́ tṑ sophistā́ | τοὺς σοφῐστᾱ́ς toùs sophistā́s | ||||||||||
Vocative | σοφῐστᾰ́ sophistá | σοφῐστᾱ́ sophistā́ | σοφῐσταί sophistaí | ||||||||||
Notes: |
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Derived terms
Derived terms
- ἀκᾰτᾰσόφῐστος (akatasóphistos, “not to be put down by fallacies”)
- ἀντισοφῐστής m (antisophistḗs, “who seeks to refute”)
- ἀσόφῐστος (asóphistos, “not deluded by fallacies”)
- γυμνοσοφῐσταί m pl (gumnosophistaí, “naked philosophers, gymnosophists”)
- γυμνοσοφῐστῐ́ᾱ f (gumnosophistíā, “wisdom of gymnosophists”)
- δειπνοσοφῐστής m (deipnosophistḗs, “learned in the mysteries of the kitchen”), Δειπνοσοφισταί m pl (Deipnosophistaí, “title of work by Athenaeus”)
- ἰᾱτροσοφῐστής m (iātrosophistḗs, “professor of medicine”)
- ἰᾱτροφῐλόσοφος m (iātrophilósophos, “scientific doctor”)
- μεγᾰλοσοφῐστής m (megalosophistḗs, “μέγας (great) σοφιστής”)
- μετεωροσοφῐστής m (meteōrosophistḗs, “astronomical sophist”)
- σοφῐστορήτωρ m (sophistorḗtōr, “σοφιστὴς sophist and ῥήτωρ orator”)
- σοφῐ́στρῐᾰ f (sophístria, “feminine of σοφιστής”)
- ῠ̔περσοφῐστής m (hupersophistḗs, “arch-sophist”)
- ψευδοσοφῐστής m (pseudosophistḗs, “sham-sophist”)
Related terms
and see at σοφός (sophós, “wise”)
Related terms
- ἀκᾰτᾰσόφῐστος (akatasóphistos, “not to be put down by fallacies”)
- ἀσόφῐστος (asóphistos, “not deluded by fallacies”)
- κᾰτᾰσοφῐσμός m (katasophismós, “outwitting, trickery”)
- πᾰρᾰσόφῐσμᾰ n (parasóphisma, “additional invention”)
- σεσοφῐσμένως (sesophisménōs, “cunningly”, adverb)
- σοφῐ́ᾱ f (sophíā, “skill, wisdom”)
- σοφῐβόλος (sophibólos, “stupid”)
- σοφῐ́ζω (sophízō, “make wise, instruct, devise”), σοφῐ́ζομαι and derivatives
- σόφῐσμᾰ n (sóphisma, “skill, method”)
- σοφῐσμᾰτῐκός (sophismatikós, “sophistical”)
- σοφῐσμάτιον n (sophismátion, “diminutive of σόφισμα”)
- σοφῐσματώδης (sophismatṓdēs, “sophistical”)
- σοφῐσμός m (sophismós, “skill, method, σόφισμα”)
- σοφῐστείᾱ f (sophisteíā, “sophistry”)
- σοφῐστέον (sophistéon, “one must contrive”)
- σοφῐστέος (sophistéos, “one must contrive”)
- σοφῐ́στευμᾰ n (sophísteuma, “skill, method, σόφισμα”)
- σοφῐστεύω (sophisteúō, “play the sophist; teach, give lectures”) and derivatives
- σοφῐστήρῐον n (sophistḗrion, “school of sophistry”)
- σοφῐστῐάω (sophistiáō, “play the sophist”)
- σοφῐστῐκός (sophistikós, “of a sophist”)
- σοφόω (sophóō, “σοφίζω, make wise, instruct, devise”)
- φῐλοσοφῐ́ᾱ f (philosophíā, “love of knowledge, philosophy”)
- φῐλόσοφος m (philósophos, “lover of wisdom, philosopher”)
Descendants
- English: sophist
- French: sophiste
- Greek: σοφιστής (sofistís)
- Latin: sophistes
- Persian: سوفسطایی (sufestâyi)
Further reading
- “σοφιστής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- σοφιστής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- casuist idem, page 117.
- cheat idem, page 127.
- deceiver idem, page 200.
- doctor idem, page 245.
- genius idem, page 357.
- learned idem, page 483.
- sage idem, page 731.
- savant idem, page 735.
- scholar idem, page 739.
- sophist idem, page 794.
- thinker idem, page 867.
- trickster idem, page 894.
- wiseacre idem, page 982.