philosopher
phi·lo·so·pher/fəˈlɑsəfɚ/noun
philosopher is spelled P-H-I-L-O-S-O-P-H-E-R, 4 syllables: phi·lo·so·pher. The wrong spelling people search most is philospher: about 110 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 13 of all searches for the word. Philosopher is a noun meaning “A lover of wisdom”. The plural of philosopher is philosophers.
How many letters and syllables are in philosopher?
| Letters | 11: P-H-I-L-O-S-O-P-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: phi·lo·so·pher |
| In writing | 5.2 times per million words; the 10,843rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 3; the most searched, philospher, about 110 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell philosopher?
Philosopher is spelled P-H-I-L-O-S-O-P-H-E-R. 3 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for philosopher in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is philosopher?
Philosopher appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce philosopher?
- UK /fɪˈlɒs.ə.fə(ɹ)/
- US /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/
Philosopher has 4 syllables, split phi·lo·so·pher in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-philosopher.wav, En-us-philosopher.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of philosopher
- philosophers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does philosopher mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A lover of wisdom.
- 2
A student of philosophy.
- 3
A scholar or expert engaged in or contributing to philosophical inquiry.
- 4
archaicA person who applies the principles of philosophy to the conduct of their life, as by acting calmly and rationally in the face of inevitable change.
- 5
archaicA student, scholar, or expert in any branch of knowledge, especially those branches studied prior to being considered part of pure science.
- 6
obsoleteAn alchemist.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate philosopher?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of philosopher: philo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Philosopher in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person devoted to studying philosophy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | philosophe |
| German | Philosoph, Philosophin |
| Portuguese | filósofo, filósofa |
| Spanish | filósofo, filósofa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does philosopher come from?
From Middle English philosophre, from Anglo-Norman or Middle French philosophe, from Latin philosophus, from Ancient Greek φιλόσοφος (philósophos, literally “lover of wisdom”) + -er. Credited as having been coined by Pythagoras to describe himself. Displaced native Old English ūþwita.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).