different between lowbrow vs philistine

English

Alternative forms

• low-brow

Etymology

A bahuvrihi compound of low +? brow, Americanism, circa 1902. Refers to the (by that time discredited) pseudoscience of phrenology, which suggested that a person of low intelligence and sophistication would possess a lower brow-line than someone of greater intelligence and sophistication.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?lo?b?a?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?l??b?a?/

Adjective

lowbrow (comparative more lowbrow, superlative most lowbrow)

1. Unsophisticated, not intended for an audience of intelligence, education or culture.

   The Three Stooges are known for their lowbrow slapstick humor consisting of foolish action for the masses.

Translations

Noun

lowbrow (countable and uncountable, plural lowbrows)

1. (countable) Someone or something of low education or culture.
2. (uncountable, art) An underground populist visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles area in the late 1960s, inspired by comics, punk music, graffiti, etc.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:idiot

Antonyms

• highbrow

Related terms

• highbrow
• middlebrow

References

• ESC, 2003. Re:highbrow, middlebrow, lowbrow, The Phrase finder.
• Robert Hendrickson, 1997. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (New York: Facts on File)

English

Etymology

The noun is derived from Philistine, influenced by philister, Philister (“(historical) in German universities: person not associated with the university; person who lacks appreciation of or is antagonistic towards art or culture”), from German Philister (“person from ancient Philistia; (figurative, dated) person not associated with a university; (figurative) person who lacks appreciation of or is antagonistic towards art or culture”), from Late Latin Philistaeus, Philisteus (compare Philistinus and see further at Philistine) + German -er (suffix forming nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place). The figurative senses of the German word are often said to have derived from a 1693 sermon by the ecclesiastical superintendent Georg Heinrich Götze (1667–1728) on the passage “Philister über dir, Simson!” (“The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”; Judges 16:9, 12, 14, and 20) at the funeral of a student from the University of Jena in Jena, Thuringia, Germany, who had died as the result of a town and gown dispute (that is, one between the townspeople and university students), but the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word was already used in Jena in these senses in 1687.

The adjective is derived from the noun.

The words philister and philistine were introduced into English by the British author Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) and greatly popularized by the English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold (1822–1888), particularly in essays first published in The Cornhill Magazine between 1867 and 1868 which were collected into a book entitled Culture and Anarchy (1869).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f?l?sta?n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?f?l??sta?n/, /-l?-/, /-stin/, /f??l?stin/
• Hyphenation: phi?list?ine

Noun

philistine (plural philistines)

1. (derogatory) A person who is ignorant or uneducated; specifically, a person who lacks appreciation of or is antagonistic towards art or culture, and who has pedestrian tastes.

   Synonym: heathen

Alternative forms

• Philistine

Derived terms

• philistinely
• philistinic
• philistinish
• philistinism

Translations

Adjective

philistine (comparative more philistine, superlative most philistine)

1. (derogatory) Ignorant or uneducated; specifically, lacking appreciation for or antagonistic towards art or culture, and having pedestrian tastes.

   Synonyms: heathen, (rare) philistinic, philistinish

Alternative forms

• Philistine

Translations

References

Further reading

• Philistinism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Adjective

philistine

1. feminine singular of philistin