any of various ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric or, philosophy, and the art of successful living noted for their subtle and often specious reasoning
a false reasoner; a user of sophistry
sophistic /soʹfistik/ adj
sophistical /soʹfistikl/ adj
sophistically /soʹfistikli/ adv
[Latin sophista from Greek sophistēs, literally ‘expert, wise man’, from sophizesthai to become wise, deceive, from sophos clever, wise]