Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Saint Anselm

Saint Anselm

1 9.5
A medieval monk and philosopher who argued that God exists
  • proper noun
: San Anselmo
  • Saint Anselm is renowned for formulating the ontological argument for the existence of God.

Examples

  • Many philosophy students are required to study the writings of Saint Anselm in their courses.

  • The teachings of Saint Anselm greatly influenced medieval philosophy.

  • The abbey where Saint Anselm lived played a central role in the intellectual life of the Middle Ages.

  • Did Saint Anselm really argue for the existence of God?

  • Saint Anselm is renowned for formulating the ontological argument for the existence of God.

  • Many philosophy students are required to study the writings of Saint Anselm in their courses.

  • The teachings of Saint Anselm greatly influenced medieval philosophy.

Synonyms

Anselm
vsSaint Anselm
1 9.9

A medieval Italian monk and church leader who served as Archbishop of Canterbury

is the same figure but identified with a religious title
St. Anselm
vsSaint Anselm
1 9.9

A medieval Italian thinker and church leader who argued that reason shows God's existence

emphasizes broader reputation as a scholastic founder rather than only that argument
Anselm of Canterbury
vsSaint Anselm
1 9.9

A medieval monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury and argued for God's existence

focuses more on the general scholarly and clerical role than that single argument

Surface Forms

Saint Anselm main

Morphology

saint + Anselm

This is a compositional proper-name formed from 'saint' + a personal name; a B1 learner who knows 'saint' and recognizes 'Anselm' as a person will straightforwardly infer it refers to a holy person named Anselm. The pattern 'Saint + name' is cross-linguistically common and transparent, so the basic referential meaning is immediately clear even if detailed biographical information is not.

Etymology

Saint Anselm was an Italian monk who became a top church leader in England and is famous for a simple idea about God: he said that if you can imagine the greatest being, that being must exist because existing is greater than not existing. That's why Saint Anselm is remembered for the 'argument for the existence of God'.