Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

philomath

/ˈfɪləmæθ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.37 in modern English

Syllables: philo-math
IPA: /ˈfɪləmæθ/

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A lover of learning; a scholar.

Archaic

noun

An astrologer or predictor.

Example Sentences

"For this (in my humble opinion, not very important purpose, and fitter to employ the talent of a philomath than a Newton) he and Leibnitz, much about the same, struck out a fluxional method, which they both took for a demonstration."
"Jerman for twenty years past had been the author of a Quaker almanac, and had for about the same time been engaged in a fierce almanac warfare with Jacob Taylor, a philomath and a printer of Friends’ books."
""The success of an almanac depended upon the appeal of the "philomath"-the resident astrologer who did the writing and predicting.""

Etymology

First indubitably attested ante 1643 (perhaps antedated to 1611); from the Ancient Greek φιλομαθής (philomathḗs, “fond of learning”), from φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + μάθη (máthē, “learning”), from μανθάνω (manthánō, “learn”); compare opsimath, philomathematic, and polymath.

Word Breakdown

Root: *bʰil-

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

philomaths (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce philomath?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɪləmæθ/.
What does philomath mean?: A lover of learning; a scholar.
Where does philomath come from?: First indubitably attested ante 1643 (perhaps antedated to 1611); from the Ancient Greek φιλομαθής (philomathḗs, “fond of learning”), from φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + μάθη (máthē, “learning”), from μανθάνω (manthánō, “learn”); compare opsimath, philomathematic, and polymath.

How to pronounce philomath

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