Definition of sophist
1 : philosopher
2 capitalized : any of a class of ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and the art of successful living prominent about the middle of the fifth century b.c. for their adroit subtle and allegedly often specious reasoning
3 : a captious or fallacious reasoner
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Origin and Etymology of sophist
Latin sophista, from Greek sophistēs, literally, expert, wise man, from sophizesthai to become wise, deceive, from sophos clever, wise
First Known Use: 14th century
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Britannica English: Translation of sophist for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sophist
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