Worldly polish and deceptive alteration share a word family rooted in cleverness.
Greek sophos meant wise or clever, behind the expert noun sophistēs. Through Greek and Latin formations, the English verb sophisticate could mean adulterating something. The later noun names a sophisticated person.
Intermediate Latin and Greek forms are omitted; the trail does not claim every expert was a deceiver.
Sources
- Merriam-Webster: sophist
The Greek family includes sophos, wise/clever, and sophistēs, literally an expert or wise person.
- Merriam-Webster: sophisticate
Word History traces the verb through Latin and Greek to sophistēs; definitions and first-use records distinguish deceptive alteration from the later person noun.