- phi|los|o|pher
- phi|los|o|pher «fuh LOS uh fuhr», noun.1. a lover of wisdom; person who studies philosophy a great deal: »
Our philosophers have not been slow to go beyond the…dogma that all utterances other than statements of fact…are literally meaningless (London Times).
2. a person who has a system of philosophy: »Plato, the great Greek philosopher wrote of many of his theories of government in “The Republic.”
3. a) a person who is calm and reasonable under hard conditions, accepting life and making the best of it: »There was never yet philosopher That could endure the toothache patiently (Shakespeare).
b) a person who is guided in his life by principles which relate to man as a rational and social being: »To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom, as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust (Thoreau).
4. Obsolete. a) an alchemist. b) an expert in some other occult science.╂[< Anglo-French philosofre, Old French philosophe, learned borrowing from Latin philosophus < Greek philósophos lover of wisdom < phílos loving + sophós wise]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.