barba tenus sapiens
Latin
Etymology
From barbā (“beard”, abl.sg.) + tenus (“as far as”, postp.) sapiēns (“discerning, wise”, adj.), i.e. 'wise only as far as the beard, merely cultivating an appearance of wisdom'. From Erasmus' Adagia, translating Ancient Greek ἐκ πώγονος σοφοί, καὶ ἀπὸ πώγονος φιλόσοφοι (ek pṓgonos sophoí, kaì apò pṓgonos philósophoi), part of a rich earlier tradition of similar sayings in reference to the beard conferring the image of a philosopher, specifically a Stoic one. Cf. sapientem pāscere barbam (“to grow a beard of wisdom”) (Horace), barba nōn facit philosophum (“a beard doesn't make you a philosopher”).
Alternative forms
- barbatenus sapiens
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /barˈbaː.te.nus ˈsa.pi.ens/, [bärˈbäːt̪ɛnʊs̠ ˈs̠äpiẽːs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈbar.ba ˈte.nus ˈsa.pi.ens/, [ˈbɑrbɑ ˈt̪ɛːnus ˈsɑːpiɛns]
Noun
barbā tenus sapiēns m or f (genitive barbā tenus sapientis); third declension
- (idiomatic, mildly derogatory) a phoney philosopher, a sophist
Declension
Indeclinable portion with a third-declension noun.
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