Love of or devotion to learning. In quot. 1647: †a philomath (obsolete ).
Apparently unrecorded in the 18th and 19th centuries..
Origin
Early 17th century. From ancient Greek ϕιλομάθεια, ϕιλομαθία love of learning from ϕιλομαθής fond of learning + -ία. Compare Italian †philomathia, French †philomathie, German †Philomathie.