Editing Sophist (section)

==Etymology==
The [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{langx|el|σοφός|sophos|a wise man|label=none}} is related to the [[noun]] {{langx|el|σοφία|[[Sophia (wisdom)|sophia]]| wisdom|label=none}}. Since the times of [[Homer]], it commonly referred to an expert in his profession or craft. [[Chariot (carriage)|Charioteer]]s, sculptors, or military experts could be referred to as {{Transliteration|el|sophoi}} in their occupations. The word has gradually come to connote general wisdom and especially wisdom in human affairs such as politics, ethics, and household management. This was the meaning ascribed to the Greek [[Seven Sages of Greece|Seven Sages]] of 7th and 6th century BCE (such as [[Solon]] and [[Thales]]), and it was the meaning that appears in the histories of [[Herodotus]].

The word {{lang|el|σοφός}} gives rise to the [[verb]] {{langx|el|σοφίζω|sophizo|to instruct / make learned|label=none}}, the [[passive voice]] of which means "to become or be wise", or "to be clever or skilled". From the verb is derived the noun {{langx|el|σοφιστής|sophistes|label=none}}, which originally meant "a master of one's craft" and later "a prudent man" or "wise man".<ref>''A Lexicon Abridged from Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon'', Oxford: Clarendon, 1996, s.v.v. σοφίζω and σοφιστής.</ref> The word for "sophist" in various languages comes from {{Transliteration|el|sophistes}}.

The word "sophist" could be combined with other Greek words to form [[Compound (linguistics)|compounds]]. Examples include ''meteorosophist'', which roughly translates to "expert in celestial phenomena"; ''[[gymnosophist]]'' (or "naked sophist", a word used to refer to Indian philosophers), ''deipnosophist'' or "dinner sophist" (as in the title of [[Athenaeus]]'s {{Transliteration|el|[[Deipnosophistae]]}}), and ''[[iatrosophist]]'', a type of physician in the later Roman period.