Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French, French philosophie (c1175 in Old French; also in Anglo-Norman as philosofie , in Old French as philozophie , phylosophie , phyllosophye , and in Middle French as phillozophie ) the advanced study of the speculative subjects (logic, ethics, physics, and metaphysics) to which study of the liberal arts was regarded as preliminary (c1175 in Old French; now denoting a similar combination of subjects taught in grammar schools), deep wisdom consisting of love of truth and virtuous living (second quarter of the 13th cent.; now obsolete), profound learning as transmitted by the ancient writers (beginning of the 14th cent., rare, now obsolete), ethics (1370–72 in philosophie moral , but apparently not independently used in this sense in French until later (sporadically from the end of the 16th cent.); now obsolete), natural science (1379 in philosophie naturelle , but apparently not independently used in this sense in French until later (17th cent.); now obsolete), alchemy (15th cent.; now obsolete), the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, and the basics and limits of human understanding (1580 in Montaigne), a person's attitude or outlook (1588 with reference to intellectual matters, end of the 17th cent. in general use), deep wisdom founded on meditation and contemplation, which gives a person mental equilibrium and support in time of adversity (1655), the sceptical or rationalist views of thinkers in the Age of Reason (1733 in the passage translated in quot. 1749 at sense 4b), a system of ideas concerning a subject (1835), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin philosophia study or pursuit of wisdom, philosophical thought, particular philosphical system or school of philosophy, view of life, attitude < ancient Greek ϕιλοσοϕία love of knowledge, pursuit of knowledge, systematic treatment of a subject, the study of morality, existence, and the universe < ϕιλόσοϕος philosophe n. + -ία -y suffix³. Senses 4a and 6a are apparently not paralleled in French until later (respectively 1553, in a translation of the biblical passage cited in quot. c1384 at sense 4a, and 1588 in Montaigne). Compare Old Occitan philosophia, Catalan filosofia (14th cent.), Spanish filosofía (c1250), Portuguese filosofia (14th cent. as fillosafia, philosifia), Italian filosofia (a1243), and also Middle Dutch, Dutch filosofie, (now rare) philosophie (also in Middle Dutch as phylosophie and in Dutch as filozofie), German Philosophie (15th cent. as †philosophye, philozophia, etc.; earlier in Middle High German as philosophīe denoting the personification of philosophy), Old Danish filosofi (Danish filosofi, also †philosophi, †philosophie), Swedish filosofi (1541 as †philosophia, 1708 as †philosophie).The definition of Cicero ( De Officiis 2. 5) was considered authoritative for sense 2: Nec quicquam aliud est philosophia, si interpretari velis, praeter studium sapientiae; sapientia autem est rerum divinarum et humanarum causarumque quibus eae res continentur scientia, ‘philosophy, if you wish to interpret it, is nothing other than the earnest pursuit of wisdom; but wisdom is the knowledge of divine and human things and of their causes’ (compare quot. 1586 at sense 2). In post-Aristotelian times the Greek and Latin word was used by the Stoics and Epicureans chiefly to denote practical wisdom (see sense 3). It is possible that the Middle English forms philofie , philophi , philophie show syncopated forms rather than transmission errors. In philosophy of nature n. (b) at sense 5c after German Naturphilosophie Naturphilosophie n.; compare earlier natural philosophy n.

Etymology: < philosophy n. Compare classical Latin philosophārī, Old French, Middle French philosophier (early 14th cent.).