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Confucius

[kuh n-fyoo-shuh s]
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noun
  1. K'ung Ch'iu, 551? b.c.–478? b.c., Chinese philosopher and teacher.
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Chinese K'ung Fu-tzŭ.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for confucius

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Like Confucius, he received the great sacrifice of oxen, sheep and pigs.

  • It is impossible to tell how much Confucius did for these old books.

    History of Religion

    Allan Menzies

  • Our religion, founded in the faith of Confucius, seems satisfying to us.

  • But the other is the bible of the Chinese, and some of them believe Confucius was a god.

    A Little Girl in Old Salem

    Amanda Minnie Douglas

  • Foremost among them is Confucius, a contemporary of Buddha and Socrates.

    From Pole to Pole

    Sven Anders Hedin

British Dictionary definitions for confucius

Confucius

noun
  1. Chinese name Kong Zi or K'ung Fu-tse. 551–479 bc, Chinese philosopher and teacher of ethics (see Confucianism). His doctrines were compiled after his death under the title The Analects of Confucius
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for confucius

Confucius

1837, Latinization of Chinese K'ung Fu-tzu "K'ung the philosopher (or Master)" (c.551 B.C.E.-c.479 B.C.E.). The name first appears in a Latin publication of Chinese works (Paris, 1687). Connection with the martial arts kung-fu is obscure, uncertain. His philosophy based on the Golden Rule: "What you do not like when done to yourself do not do to others." Related: Confucian (adj., 1837); Confucianism (1846).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
confucius in Culture

Confucius

A Chinese philosopher of the sixth century b.c.; the founder of Confucianism. His teachings have come down to us as a collection of short sayings.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.