σοφιστής

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From σοφίζω (sophízō, “to become wise”) +‎ -ιστής (-istḗs), from σοφός (sophós, “wise”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /so.pʰis.tɛ̌ːs/ → /so.ɸisˈtis/ → /so.fisˈtis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /so.pʰis.tɛ̌ːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /so.pʰisˈte̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /so.ɸisˈtis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /so.fisˈtis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /so.fisˈtis/

Noun

σοφῐστής • (sophistḗs) m (genitive σοφῐστοῦ); first declension (Attic, Ionic, Koine)

1. A master of one's craft
2. One who is wise, prudent, a philosopher
3. teacher, tutor
4. (slang, derogatory) One who makes a profit off of false wisdom: cheat, swindler

Usage notes

The reputation of the teachers at Athens came into decline in the fifth century BC, and thus came the connotation of cheat. This varies with time in relation to the general approval or disapproval of the paid teachers.

Inflection

First declension of ὁ σοφῐστής; τοῦ σοφῐστοῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σοφῐστής ho sophistḗs	τὼ σοφῐστᾱ́ tṑ sophistā́	οἱ σοφῐσταί hoi sophistaí
Genitive	τοῦ σοφῐστοῦ toû sophistoû	τοῖν σοφῐσταῖν toîn sophistaîn	τῶν σοφῐστῶν tôn sophistôn
Dative	τῷ σοφῐστῇ tôi sophistêi	τοῖν σοφῐσταῖν toîn sophistaîn	τοῖς σοφῐσταῖς toîs sophistaîs
Accusative	τὸν σοφῐστήν tòn sophistḗn	τὼ σοφῐστᾱ́ tṑ sophistā́	τοὺς σοφῐστᾱ́ς toùs sophistā́s
Vocative	σοφῐστᾰ́ sophistá	σοφῐστᾱ́ sophistā́	σοφῐσταί sophistaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Coordinate terms

• σοφῐ́στρῐᾰ f (sophístria)

Derived terms

• ἀκᾰτᾰσόφῐστος (akatasóphistos, “not to be put down by fallacies”)
• ἀντισοφῐστής m (antisophistḗs, “who seeks to refute”)
• ἀσόφῐστος (asóphistos, “not deluded by fallacies”)
• γυμνοσοφῐσταί m pl (gumnosophistaí, “naked philosophers, gymnosophists”)
• γυμνοσοφῐστῐ́ᾱ f (gumnosophistíā, “wisdom of gymnosophists”)
• Δειπνοσοφισταί m pl (Deipnosophistaí, “title of work by Athenaeus”)
• δειπνοσοφῐστής m (deipnosophistḗs, “learned in the mysteries of the kitchen”)
• ἰᾱτροσοφῐστής m (iātrosophistḗs, “professor of medicine”)
• ἰᾱτροφῐλόσοφος m (iātrophilósophos, “scientific doctor”)
• μεγᾰλοσοφῐστής m (megalosophistḗs, “great sophist”)
• μετεωροσοφῐστής m (meteōrosophistḗs, “astronomical sophist”)
• σοφῐστορήτωρ m (sophistorḗtōr, “sophist-orator”)
• ῠ̔περσοφῐστής m (hupersophistḗs, “arch-sophist”)
• ψευδοσοφῐστής m (pseudosophistḗs, “sham-sophist”)

 

Related terms

• ἀκᾰτᾰσόφῐστος (akatasóphistos, “not to be put down by fallacies”)
• ἀσόφῐστος (asóphistos, “not deluded by fallacies”)
• σοφῐστείᾱ f (sophisteíā, “sophistry”)
• σοφῐστέον (sophistéon, “one must contrive”)
• σοφῐστέος (sophistéos, “one must contrive”)
• σοφῐ́στευμᾰ n (sophísteuma, “skill, method”)
• σοφῐστεύω (sophisteúō, “play the sophist; teach, give lectures”)
• σοφῐστήρῐον n (sophistḗrion, “school of sophistry”)
• σοφῐστῐάω (sophistiáō, “play the sophist”)
• σοφῐστῐκός (sophistikós, “of a sophist”)

 

Descendants

• Greek: σοφιστής (sofistís)
• → Arabic:

  Jewish Palestinian Aramaic: סופיסטה‏, סופיסטא, סופיסטיס

  Classical Syriac: ܣܘܿܦܝܺܣܛܳܐ (sōpisṭā), ܣܦܣܛܐ, ܣܘܦܣܛܐ, ܣܦܝܣܛܘܣ

  • → Arabic: سَفْسَطَائِيّ (safsaṭāʔiyy)
  • → Persian: سوفسطایی (sufestâyi)
• → Latin: sophistēs, sophista (all periods), sofista (Medieval Latin)
  • → English: sophist
  • → French: sophiste

Further reading

• “σοφιστής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σοφιστής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • casuist idem, page 117.
  • cheat idem, page 127.
  • deceiver idem, page 200.
  • doctor idem, page 245.
  • genius idem, page 357.
  • learned idem, page 483.
  • sage idem, page 731.
  • savant idem, page 735.
  • scholar idem, page 739.
  • sophist idem, page 794.
  • thinker idem, page 867.
  • trickster idem, page 894.
  • wiseacre idem, page 982.