barba tenus sapiens
Latin
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From barbā (“beard”, abl.sg.) + tenus (“as far as”, postp.) sapiēns (“discerning, wise”, adj.), i.e. 'wise only as far as the beard, merely cultivating an appearance of wisdom'. From Erasmus' Adagia, translating Ancient Greek ἐκ πώγωνος σοφοί, καὶ ἀπὸ πώγωνος φιλόσοφοι (ek pṓgōnos sophoí, kaì apò pṓgōnos philósophoi), part of a rich earlier tradition of similar sayings in reference to the beard conferring the image of a philosopher, specifically a Stoic one. Cf. sapientem pāscere barbam (“to grow a beard of wisdom”) (Horace), barba nōn facit philosophum (“a beard doesn't make you a philosopher”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /barˈbaː.te.nus ˈsa.pi.ens/, [bärˈbäːt̪ɛnʊs̠ ˈs̠äpiẽːs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈbar.ba ˈte.nus ˈsa.pi.ens/, [ˈbärbä ˈt̪ɛːnus ˈsäːpiens]
Noun
[edit]barbā tenus sapiēns m or f (genitive barbā tenus sapientis); third declension
- (idiomatic, mildly derogatory) a phoney philosopher, a sophist
Declension
[edit]- Indeclinable portion with a third-declension noun.
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Categories:
- Latin terms calqued from Ancient Greek
- Latin terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation only
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin masculine nouns in the third declension
- Latin feminine nouns in the third declension
- Latin multiword terms
- Latin masculine nouns
- Latin feminine nouns
- Latin nouns with multiple genders
- Latin idioms
- Latin derogatory terms
- la:Philosophy
- la:Human behaviour
- la:Appearance
- la:Hair