[soph.ist] n [L sophista, fr. Gk sophistes, lit., expert, wise man, fr. sophizesthai to become wise, deceive, fr. sophos clever, wise] (1542) 1 cap: any of a class of ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and the art of successful living prominent about the middle of the 5th century b.c. for their adroit subtle and allegedly often specious reasoning
2: philosopher, thinker
3: a captious or fallacious reasoner