🇬🇷 Greek culture lover 🇬🇷 Loving Greek things

philhellene

9.9

A person who admires Greece, its people, and its culture

noun
/ˌfɪlˈhɛliːn/

: filófono

The philhellene devoted years to studying ancient Greek history and language.

Examples

Many philhellenes travel to Greece every summer.
During his travels, he became a noted philhellene and collected Greek art and manuscripts.
Many philhellenes supported Greece during its war of independence in the 19th century.
He is a passionate philhellene who loves Greek history.
Many philhellenes travel to Greece to immerse themselves in its rich history and culture.
As a lifelong philhellene, she decorates her home with Greek art and literature.
He became a philhellene after studying ancient Greek philosophers in college.

Synonyms

Graecophile

vsphilhellene

9.9

A person who admires Greek people, culture, or language

admire Greece mainly for people or culture rather than language

philhellenist

vsphilhellene

9.9

A person who loves Greece and its ancient culture

admire Greece more generally, including people and modern culture

Hellenist

vsphilhellene

9.6

A person who studies ancient Greek language, literature, and culture

admire Greece as a person rather than study it academically

Surface Forms

philhellene singular

philhellenes plural

Morphology

philhellene = Hellene (semi-transparent) = phil + hellene

Meaning is directly derivable as 'lover/admirer of Greeks' from 'phil-' + 'Hellene', but both elements are Greek combining forms that may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

Philhellene comes from Greek parts philo- meaning 'love', as in philosophy, and -hellene meaning 'Greek'. So a Philhellene is someone who 'loves' Greece or Greek culture.