Concern for human welfare, often expressed through giving.
Played on · Day 19 · word 3 of 5
Love of humankind.
How philanthropy reached English
oldest first
phil-‘loving’
anthrōpos‘human being’
combined
combined
Greek
philanthrōpos
‘loving people’
within Greek
Greek
philanthrōpia
‘kindliness, humanity, benevolence, love to mankind’
into Late Latin
Late Latin
philanthropia
into English
English
philanthropy
The story of philanthropy
Philanthropy comes from Greek material about loving human beings, transmitted through Latin. Money is not one of its literal components. Modern charitable giving is one way the broader idea of concern for people is expressed.
This view explains the components. They are pieces of one construction, not consecutive borrowing stages.