philosophen.adj.

Etymology: In Old English < classical Latin philosophus (see below); in later use, especially in sense 2, largely reborrowed < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French, French philosophe (c1165 in Old French; also in Anglo-Norman and Old French as philesophe and in Old French as filosofe ) an authority of ancient learning, e.g. Plato, Aristotle, Cicero (c1165 in Old French in plural li philosophe ; now obsolete), person who studies or practises philosophy (in its various senses), in early use especially a scholar studying science, theology, and humanities with speculative methods (c1223), alchemist (15th cent.; now obsolete), free-thinker, rationalist philosopher (1694) < classical Latin philosophus lover of wisdom, philosopher < ancient Greek ϕιλόσοϕος < ϕιλο- philo- comb. form + σοϕός wise (see sophist n.). Compare Old Occitan philosophe (c1300 or earlier; also 1380 as filosofe; Occitan filosòf), Catalan filòsof (13th cent.), Spanish filósofo (first half of the 13th cent.; also 1251 as †philosopho), Portuguese filósofo (13th cent.), Italian filosofo (a1292), and also Middle Dutch filosofe, philosofe, philosoph, philosophe, philosoof (Dutch filosoof, filozoof, also †philosofe, †philosoph, †philosophe), early modern German philosoph, phylosoph (14th cent.; also frequently in Latinate forms philosophus, phylosophus), philosophe (15th cent.; German Philosoph), Old Danish philosophus (Danish filosof, also †philosoph).In Old English (and occasionally in Middle English) also used with Latin case inflections (compare quot. eOE¹ at sense 1). It is unclear whether a nominative form philosoph is to be inferred from the Old English dative form philosophe . With sense 2 compare the following slightly earlier occurrence as an unassimilated French loan:1774 H. Walpole Let. 28 Sept. (1904) IX. 59 Madame du Deffand hates les philosophes.