Etymologically
Log in

philanthropy

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 09:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fɪˈlæn.θɹə.pi/ (UK); /fəˈlæn.θɹə.pi/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin philanthropia,[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek φιλανθρωπία (philanthrōpía, “kindliness, love of mankind”),[2][3][4][5][6] from philánthrōpos “loving mankind”,[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek φιλ- (phil-, “loving”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human being”).[2][3][4][5][6] Barnhart says it may have come partly through French philanthropie.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Love of mankind; practical goodwill towards people in general (1607–12, first in the Latin form philanthropia).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The modern spelling is attested from the 1620s (1623).[3][4][5] The word was also used of the love of God for man, a sense now obsolete.[7] In 1884 it came to mean a philanthropic act, movement or agency.[7][3] Today it means chiefly the effort to promote human welfare, especially by donations of money or work.[2][6]

Timeline

  • 1607–12 – love of mankind, as philanthropia.[7][3]
  • 1623 – the spelling philanthropy.[3][5]
  • 1730–36 – philanthropist.[3]
  • 1789 – philanthropic.[3]
  • 1884 – a philanthropic act or agency.[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The effort or inclination to increase human well-being, as by charitable aid or donations.
  2. Love of humankind in general; goodwill.
  3. An act, gift, activity or institution meant to promote human welfare.

Word family

  • philanthropist
  • philanthropic
  • philanthropize
  • misanthropy
  • anthropology
  • philosophy

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press