philosophy

/fəˈlɒsəfi/fuh-LO-suh-fee

/fəˈlɑsəfi/fuh-LAH-suh-fee

Meaningthe love of wisdom

Common meaning: the study of knowledge, reality and how to live

philfond, loving; a friendLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1677 · scan
sophwise; wisdomLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1410 · scan
ynoun ending: study, state or act

‘fond, loving’ + ‘wise’ → philosophy

Journey through time

phil — Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos) “fond, loving; a friend” (path traced)
soph — Greek σοφός, σοφία “wise; wisdom” (path traced)

Parts join in Latin as philosophia.

Greekφίλος (phílos) + σοφός, σοφία‘fond, loving + wise’
Latinphilosophia
Frenchphilosophie
Englishphilosophy‘the study of knowledge, reality and how to live’ · today

phil also in: philology philosopher philanthropy

soph also in: sophist sophisticated philosopher

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos) ‘fond, loving; a friend’ + Greek σοφός ‘wise; wisdom’.

Did you know (Greek sophia, wisdom,…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry σοφός, p. 1410 · dictionary scan

Did you know (Greek philos, loving,…): our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry φίλος (phílos), p. 1677 · dictionary scan

Roots

σοφός, σοφία Greek “wise; wisdom”
φίλος (phílos) Ancient Greek “fond, loving; a friend”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app