cynic

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.

   Well, that's one in the eye for the nay-sayers, the doubters, the cynics and assorted tosspots what make up the media and that.

2. 2
   adj

   Relating to the Dog Star.

   the cynic, or Sothic, year; cynic cycle

3. 3
   noun

   someone who is critical of the motives of others

4. 4
   noun

   A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.

5. 5
   adj

   cynical (in all senses)

6. 6
   noun

   A member of a sect of Ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.

7. 7
   adj

   Of or relating to the Cynics.

Etymology

From Middle English cynike, cynicke, from Middle French cynique, from Latin cynicus, from Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós), originally derived from the portico in Athens called Κυνόσαργες (Kunósarges), the earliest home of the Cynic school, later reinterpreted as being derived from κύων (kúōn, “dog”), in a contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.