philistine

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A person who has no interest in or appreciation of art and culture.

   He called me a philistine just because I had never been to the opera.

2. 2
   adj

   Lacking interest in or hostile to art and culture.

   Cutting funding for the arts was a deeply philistine decision.

Simplified etymology

Philistine was originally the name of an ancient people who lived on the southern coast of Palestine. In late 17th-century Jena, German students used Philister, “Philistine,” as an insult for a townsperson or non-student; English travellers spread this university slang, and by the 1820s philistine was being used for an uncultured person. The ethnic name shares its root with Palestine.

The noun is derived from Middle English Philistyne, Philisten [and other forms], from Old English Filistina (genitive plural), from Old French Philistin (modern French Philistin) and Late Latin Philistinus, from Koine Greek Φυλιστῖνοι (Phulistînoi), a variant of Φυλιστιίμ (Phulistiím), Φυλιστιείμ (Phulistieím) (compare Koine Greek Παλαιστῖνοι (Palaistînoi)), from Hebrew פְּלִשְׁתִּים (p'lishtím, plural noun), from פְּלִשְׁתִּי (p'lishtí, “Philistine”, adjective), from פְּלֶשֶׁת (p'léshet, “Philistia”). An Anatolian origin should be considered, compare Hittite 𒁄𒄭𒅖 (pal-ḫi-iš /⁠palḫis⁠/, “wide,…

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