φιλανθρωπία

Forms

φιλανθρωπῐ́ᾱ (philanthrōpíā) f (genitive φιλανθρωπῐ́ᾱς); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek φιλάνθρωπος (philánthrōpos, “loving mankind, humane”) + -ία (-ía),^[1][2] an abstract noun from the adjective.^[1] The adjective is made of φίλος (phílos, “dear, loving”) and ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human being”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in Attic prose around 400 BC: Plato in the Euthyphro and Xenophon in the Cyropaedia and the Memorabilia use it of humane, kindly feeling.^[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

In the orators and historians of the 4th century BC it is kindness or benevolence, shown by people or gods, and in a weaker sense courtesy or friendliness.^[6][3] Isocrates opposes it to haughtiness, and Demosthenes to envy and cruelty.^[3] Xenophon uses it of clemency to the defeated, and in the plural it means acts of kindness.^[3][6] Xenophon also speaks of the kindliness of agriculture, and Demosthenes of the mildness of the law.^[3][6]

The Hellenistic age made it a key word: the virtue of good rulers, praised in literature, papyri and inscriptions, and defined by the Stoics as a kindly disposition towards others.^[7][4] In the papyri it is a title of address, “your Clemency”, and a privilege granted by the king.^[3] The Septuagint uses it of the clemency of kings, and in Titus it is the love of God for mankind, made manifest in Christ; this became a theological sense.^[8][4][2]

In Modern Greek φιλανθρωπία (filanthropía) is a learned word, now chiefly charity: helping people in need, and the activity of charitable bodies.^[9][2]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Plato and Xenophon use it of humane, kindly feeling.^[3][4]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it in the plural of acts of kindness and of courtesy of speech.^[3][6]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it of clemency towards prisoners.^[3][6]
• 1st century AD – The Epistle to Titus uses it of God's love for mankind.^[3][4]
• Modern Greek – The learned φιλανθρωπία (filanthropía) means charity.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Humanity, benevolence, kindness, shown by people or gods.^[3][6]
2. In a weaker sense, friendliness, courtesy.^[3][6]
3. Clemency, leniency, towards prisoners or the defeated.^[3][6]
4. (in the plural) Acts of kindness, favours.^[3][6]
5. (of things) Mildness, kindliness, as of the law or of agriculture.^[3][6]
6. (papyri) A title of address, “your Clemency”; a privilege or concession.^[3]
7. (New Testament) God's love for mankind.^[3][4]

Related words

• φιλάνθρωπος (philánthrōpos)
• Modern Greek φιλανθρωπία (filanthropía)
• English philanthropy

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
5. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki