来自希腊语 sophos,有知识的,有智慧的,来自 PIE*sap,尝试,品尝,鉴别,词源同 sapient, 有智慧的。-ist,人。字面意思即有智慧的人,智者,哲人,后词义多用于贬义化指诡辩家, 诡辩者。
Sophists taught before the development of logic and grammar, when skill in reasoning and in disputation could not be accurately distinguished, and thus they came to attach great value to quibbles, which soon brought them into contempt. [Century Dictionary]