Philosophy & ThoughtGreek → English
Sophistry
/ˈsɒfɪstri/noun
Reasoning that looks valid and is designed to mislead.
The Greek roots
σοφιστής
sophistḗs
expert, teacher of wisdom
σοφία
sophía
wisdom, skill
Literally: “the practice of the wisdom-teacher”
The story of the word
Chaucer's century already had sophistrie, meaning argument that wins without being true. The Greek behind it is entirely honourable: σοφία is wisdom and σοφιστής was an expert in it. The insult is Plato's doing rather than the language's, and philosophy keeps the innocent half of the same root, love of wisdom.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
Same family
sophistphilosophysophisticatedtheosophy
In a sentence
The defence was elegant sophistry: every step followed, and the conclusion was still a lie.