Standard Lemma guide

philistinism

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A materialistic attitude accompanied by ignorance of artistic or cultural matters.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: materialism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: desire

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English philistine Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English philistinism From philistine + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: filistealaisuus — philistinism
  • French: béotisme — philistinism
  • German: Banausentum — philistinism
  • German: Banausie — philistinism
  • German: Philisterei — philistinism
  • German: Spießbürgertum — philistinism
  • Eastern Mari: мещанстве (meŝanstve) — philistinism
  • Polish: mieszczaństwo — philistinism
  • Portuguese: filistinismo — philistinism
  • Russian: меща́нство (meščánstvo) — philistinism
  • Russian: фили́стерство (filísterstvo) — philistinism
  • Volapük: filist — philistinism