| Definitions | | Cynic |
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proper noun
- a member of a sect of ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.
adjective
- of or related to the Cynics.
Etymology: Originated 1540"50 from Latin Cynicus (cynic philosopher), from Greek Kynikós (literally doglike, currish), equivalent to to kyn- (dog) + -ic, -ikos; see (pie, kwon-).The word may have first been applied to Cynics because of the nickname kuÅn (dog) given to the w:Diogenes of Sinope, Diogenes of Sinope, the prototypical Cynic.
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Full Definition of Cynic
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noun
- A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.
- A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.
Etymology: Derived either from the building in Athens called Kynosarges, the earliest home of the Cynic school, or from the Greek word for a dog (kyon), in contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.
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