Gymnosophist
//d͡ʒɪmˈnɑsəfɪst// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of a school of ancient Indian ascetic philosophers, reported in antiquity, who wore little clothing; a mystic.
"As that gymnosophist in Plutarch made answer to Alexander (demanding which spake best), Every one of his fellows did speak better than the other: so may I say of these causes […]."
- 2 member of a Hindu sect practicing gymnosophy (especially nudism) wordnet
Example
More examples"As that gymnosophist in Plutarch made answer to Alexander (demanding which spake best), Every one of his fellows did speak better than the other: so may I say of these causes […]."
Etymology
Borrowed from French gymnosophiste, from Latin gymnosophista, from Ancient Greek γυμνοσοφιστής (gumnosophistḗs), from γυμνός (gumnós, “naked”) + σοφιστής (sophistḗs, “sophist”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.