philistine

[fil-uh-steen, -stahyn, fi-lis-tin, -teen]

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter) a person who is lacking in or hostile or smugly indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement, etc., or is contentedly commonplace in ideas and tastes.

(initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia.

adjective

(sometimes initial capital letter) lacking in or hostile to culture.

smugly commonplace or conventional.

(initial capital letter) of or belonging to the ancient Philistines.

Nearby words

Origin of philistine

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin Philistīnī (plural) < Late Greek Philistînoi < Hebrew pəlishtīm

SYNONYMS FOR philistine

1. Babbitt, vulgarian. 3. lowbrow.

Related formsphil·is·tin·ism

[fil-uh-stee-niz-uhm, -stahy-, fi-lis-tuh-niz-uhm, -tee-] /ˈfɪl ə stiˌnɪz əm, -staɪ-, fɪˈlɪs təˌnɪz əm, -ti-/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for philistine

They snap strong cords even as Samson did the Philistine withes.
The Firebrand|S. R. Crockett
Jonathan and his armour-bearer charged the Philistine garrison and routed hundreds singlehanded.
When the Holy Ghost is Come|S. L. Brengle
The traditional enemy, the Philistine, comes up over the hill.
Quiet Talks on Service|S. D. Gordon
This refers to the coast of Palestine in the neighborhood of the Philistine cities or Gezer.
Archology and the Bible|George A. Barton

And do you understand, Fred, that it would be base on my part were I to follow you to the Philistine?
Mother Earth, Vol. 1 No. 2, April 1906|Various

British Dictionary definitions for philistine

Philistine

noun

a person who is unreceptive to or hostile towards culture, the arts, etc; a smug boorish person

a member of the non-Semitic people who inhabited ancient Philistia

adjective

(sometimes not capital) boorishly uncultured

of or relating to the ancient Philistines

Derived FormsPhilistinism (ˈfɪlɪstɪˌnɪzəm), noun

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 philistine

Philistine

Old Testament people of coastal Palestine who made war on the Israelites, early 14c., from Old French Philistin, from Late Latin Philistinus, from Late Greek Philistinoi (plural), from Hebrew P'lishtim, "people of P'lesheth" ("Philistia"); cf. Akkad. Palastu, Egyptian Palusata; the word probably is the people's name for itself.

philistine

"person deficient in liberal culture," 1827, originally in Carlyle, popularized by him and Matthew Arnold, from German Philister "enemy of God's word," literally "Philistine," inhabitants of a Biblical land, neighbors (and enemies) of Israel (see Philistine). Popularized in German student slang (supposedly first in Jena, late 17c.) as a contemptuous term for "townies," and hence, by extension, "any uncultured person." Philistine had been used in a humorous figurative sense of "the enemy" in English from c.1600.

philistine

noun

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of philistine

Examples from the Web for philistine

Philistine

noun

adjective

Philistine

philistine