Philanthropy

How to spell philanthropy

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce philanthropy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does philanthropy mean?

1. nounThe practice of donating money, time, or effort to promote the welfare of others, especially through generous gifts to good causes.

Philanthropy in a sentence

• The foundation devotes much of its budget to philanthropy in education and health.

• After selling his company, he turned his attention fully to philanthropy.

Where does philanthropy come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word comes from the Greek philanthropia, which literally meant 'love of humankind', built from philos, meaning 'loving' or 'dear', and anthropos, meaning 'human being' or 'man'. In ancient Greek thought the idea described a kindly, generous disposition toward other people, and it was even used of the gods showing favour to mortals. English absorbed it in the early 1600s, partly through the Latin form philanthropia, and at first it kept the broad sense of general benevolence. Only later, especially in the nineteenth century, did it narrow toward the modern meaning of donating money and effort to good causes. The same philos root sits inside 'philosophy' (love of wisdom) and 'philharmonic' (love of harmony), while anthropos surfaces in 'anthropology' and 'misanthrope', and remembering that anthrop chunk is the key to spelling the tricky middle of the word.

How the word is built

• phil- (loving, from Greek philos)
• anthrop (human being, from Greek anthropos)
• -y (noun-forming suffix)