[ 'fɪlɪstʌɪn ]
■ noun
1》 a member of a non-Semitic people of ancient Palestine who came into conflict with the Israelites.
2》 ( philistine ) a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.
Derivatives
philistinism -stɪnɪz(ə)m noun
Word History
What is the connection between uncultured philistines and the ~s of biblical times, who came into conflict with the Israelites and from whom Palestine took its name? The sense 'person hostile or indifferent to culture' arose in the 19th century as a result of a confrontation between townspeople and members of the university of Jena, Germany, in the late 17th century. A sermon on the conflict quoted the phrase ‘the ~s are upon you’ (Book of Judges, chapter 16), which led to an association between the townspeople and those hostile to culture.