philosophe

noun

phi·​lo·​sophe ˌfē-lə-ˈzȯf How to pronounce philosophe (audio)
: one of the deistic or materialistic writers and thinkers of the 18th century French Enlightenment

Examples of philosophe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The French philosophes were not certain how to classify this distant land that, ever since Peter the Great, sought to join the European club. Robert Zaretsky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2019 Character and aesthetics aside, the differences between the trust-fund cowboy and the Harvard philosophe were matters of degree, not kind. Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 19 Aug. 2024 From Montesquieu through Voltaire to Diderot, les philosophes debated Russia’s geographic, and thus civilizational, status. Robert Zaretsky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2019 The French philosophe the Marquis de Condorcet prophesied that, with the press finally free, the world would be bathed in the light of reason. Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 Leading the opposition was Diderot, the Enlightenment philosophe. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2022 With some exceptions, the typical Enlightenment philosophe was an intellectual generalist, more a social or political critic than anything else. Jeffrey Collins, WSJ, 12 Mar. 2021 The philosophe wondered what was left to unbelievers in the way of ethical guidelines. Dan Hofstadter, WSJ, 15 Feb. 2019 In 18th-century France there were the philosophes, among them D’Alembert, Diderot, Voltaire, Helvétius. Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 22 Mar. 2019

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, philosopher

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of philosophe was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near philosophe

Cite this Entry

“Philosophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philosophe. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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