Hellenist

American  

[hel-uh-nist] / ˈhɛl ə nɪst /

noun

1. a person, especially in ancient times, adopting Greek speech, ideas, or customs.

2. a person who admires or studies Greek civilization.

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Hellenist British  

/ ˈhɛlɪnɪst /

noun

1. Also called: Hellenizer.  (in the Hellenistic world) a non-Greek, esp a Jew, who adopted Greek culture

2. a student of the Greek civilization or language

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Etymology

Origin of Hellenist

From the Greek word Hellēnistḗs, dating back to 1605–15. See Hellene, -ist

Example Sentences

Thinking of him as a sculptor, he’s more of a Hellenist than an Impressionist: He likes beauty and structure and logic, not messy displacement.

From New York Times

The Hasmonean state, originally a bulwark against Greek dominance, eventually declined into a petty Hellenist tyranny barely distinguishable from other military-political entities in the Middle East at the time.

From Slate

Thus, the world's first Hellenist was made, and he was the one who wanted everything white.

From The Guardian

There is every appearance that the author was a Hellenist who lacked knowledge of the Hebrew text, and derived his metaphysic and his allegorical method from the Alexandrian rather than the Palestinian schools.

From Project Gutenberg

And Paul's experience was not so much that of a Palestinian Jew, as that of a Hellenist, one whose whole idea of 'redemption' has been unconsciously universalized, individualized, and spiritualized, by contact with Greek and Hellenistic thought.

From Project Gutenberg