philistine

noun

1. (historical)A non-Semitic person from ancient Philistia, a region in the southwest Levant in the Middle East.

   “Then the lords of the Philiſtines gathered them together, for to offer a great ſacrifice vnto Dagon their god, and to reioyce; for they ſaid, Our god hath deliuered Samſon our enemy into our hand.”

   “Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.”

2. (figuratively, plural-normally)An opponent (of the speaker, writer, etc); an enemy, a foe.

   “In very truth what could poor old Abbot Hugo do? A frail old man; and the Philistines were upon him,—that is to say, the Hebrews.”

3. (historical)In German universities: a person not associated with the university; a non-academic or non-student; a townsperson.
4. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of philistine (“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”).

   “It is Shakespearean, you Philistine!”

   “Not only was he [Heinrich Heine] not one of Mr. [Thomas] Carlyle's "respectable" people, he was profoundly disrespectable; and not even the merit of not being a Philistine can make up for a man's being that.”

   “If it were not for this purging effect wrought upon our minds by culture, the whole world, the future as well as the present, would inevitably belong to the Philistines.”

   “Even the most pig-headed vestry-man feels that something unpleasant has been said about him when he has been called a Philistine, though he may have the vaguest possible conception of its precise meaning. [...] It is used so vaguely by people who are themselves Philistines of the deepest dye, that it is in danger of losing its meaning.”

5. (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.

   “Not only was he [Heinrich Heine] not one of Mr. [Thomas] Carlyle's "respectable" people, he was profoundly disrespectable; and not even the merit of not being a Philistine can make up for a man's being that.”

   “If it were not for this purging effect wrought upon our minds by culture, the whole world, the future as well as the present, would inevitably belong to the Philistines.”

   “Even the most pig-headed vestry-man feels that something unpleasant has been said about him when he has been called a Philistine, though he may have the vaguest possible conception of its precise meaning. [...] It is used so vaguely by people who are themselves Philistines of the deepest dye, that it is in danger of losing its meaning.”

   “Mr. [Matthew] Arnold has no patience with the middle-class ‘Philistines’ the dullards and haters of light, who care only for what is material and practical.”

adj

1. (historical)Originating from ancient Philistia; of or pertaining to the ancient Philistines.
2. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of philistine (“ignorant or uneducated; specifically, lacking appreciation for or antagonistic towards art or culture, and having pedestrian tastes”).

   “[Robert] Walpole, moreover, left England not only more corrupt than he found it, but crasser and more Philistine.”

   “Visitors to the area are strongly recommended to have a look around the castle, for even the most Philistine of wild water canoeists cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous armoury, fine paintings and wonderful furnishings that seem to outclass all other museums and castles in the North East.”

   “Miles was taken seriously by the great dames of Manhattan society and was not scorned by even the most Philistine of their husbands.”

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

   “[Robert] Walpole, moreover, left England not only more corrupt than he found it, but crasser and more Philistine.”

   “Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity. But in regard to philistine vulgarity there is no intrinsic difference between Palearctic manners and Nearctic manners.”

   “There is a satisfying, down-to-earth humanness about him, a kind of philistine vigor which helps us to see things in their proper proportions. He is the voice of the philistine in all of us.”

   “Visitors to the area are strongly recommended to have a look around the castle, for even the most Philistine of wild water canoeists cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous armoury, fine paintings and wonderful furnishings that seem to outclass all other museums and castles in the North East.”

   “Miles was taken seriously by the great dames of Manhattan society and was not scorned by even the most Philistine of their husbands.”