Aristarch

English

WOTD – 20 July 2011

Alternative forms

• aristarch, Aristarchus

Etymology

From the Latin Aristarchus, from the Ancient Greek Ἀρίσταρχος (Arístarkhos) (Aristarkhos; “Aristarchus of Samothrace”, a severe critic of Homeric poetry).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ăʹrĭstärk, IPA^(key): /ˈæɹɪstɑːk/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

Aristarch (plural Aristarchs)

1. A severe critic.

   Synonym: zoilus

   • September 1764, Tobias George Smollett, editor, The Critical Review: or, Annals of Literature‎^[1], volume 18, article 23: Review of William Johnſton’s A Pronouncing and Spelling Dictionary, &c., page 237:

     Let no Ariſtarch of learning diſdain performances of this kind.

   • 1932, Edith Philips, The Good Quaker in French Legend‎^[2], University of Pennsylvania Press, page 145:

     Then let these Aristarchs read the geographer Morse; they will then see that the good Penn, however concerned he may have been with spiritual good, did not for all that neglect the goods of this world.

Derived terms

• Aristarchian

Translations

severe critic

• Bulgarian: ариста́рх m (aristárh)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苛评家

• French: aristarque (fr)
• Italian: aristarco
• Portuguese: aristarco
• Romanian: aristarh
• Russian: ариста́рх (ru) m (aristárx)
• Slovene: aristarh
• Spanish: aristarco

References

• “Aristarch” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd ed., 1989]