[ 'sɒfɪst ]
■ noun
1》 a paid teacher of philosophy and rhetoric in ancient Greece, associated in popular thought with moral scepticism and specious reasoning.
2》 a person who uses clever but fallacious arguments.
Derivatives
~ic sə'fɪstɪk adjective
~ical sə'fɪstɪk(ə)l adjective
~ically adverb
Origin
C16: via L. from Gk ~ēs , from sophizesthai 'devise, become wise', from sophos 'wise'.