[ 'sɪnɪk ]
■ noun
1》 a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest.
↘a sceptic.
2》 ( Cynic ) a member of a school of ancient Greek philosophers characterized by an ostentatious contempt for wealth and pleasure.
Derivatives
~ism noun
Origin
C16: from L. ~us , from Gk kunikos ; prob. orig. from Kunosarges , the name of a gymnasium where Antisthenes (the founder of the school of philosophy) taught, but popularly taken to mean 'doglike, churlish', kuōn , kun- , 'dog' becoming a nickname for a Cynic.