Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “philistine” come from?

Philistine comes from Middle English Philisten, from Old English Fillestina, from Late Latin Philistinus, ultimately referring to the ancient Palestinian people.

philistine (English): A person who is ignorant or uneducated;...

Definitions

  1. A person who is ignorant or uneducated;...

Ancestry of “philistine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPhilistineA non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia, a...
2Middle EnglishPhilistyne—
3Old EnglishFilistina—
4LatinPhilistinus—
5Koine GreekΦυλιστῖνοι—
6Hebrewפְּלִשְׁתִּים—
7Hebrewפְּלִשְׁתִּיa Philistine; Philistine
8HebrewפְּלֶשֶׁתPhilistia, land of the Philistines
9Hebrewפ־ל־שmigrate, invade

Words derived from “philistine”

  • philistinism
  • philistinish
  • philistinic
  • philistinely
Every word from Hebrew פ־ל־ש →