Philomathy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A profound and passionate desire to seek knowledge purely for its own sake is identified as this concept
2. This idea represents an intense enthusiasm for the acquisition of learning and wisdom
3. A strong and fervent love for learning and the pursuit of knowledge characterizes this intellectual passion

Etymology: Philomathy is built from two Greek elements: "philo-", meaning loving or fond of, and "-mathy", from Greek "mathein", to learn. The "-mathy" part is the same root that gives English "mathematics" and "polymath", a person of wide learning. Its meaning is simply the love of learning for its own sake, a sense the two halves combine to express directly. The word belongs to a family of English coinages built on Greek "philo-" that reached its height in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when scholars and writers liked to name passions in classical form. Words like "philanthropy" and "philosophy" share the same first element, so "philomathy" sits comfortably among them as a learned, slightly formal term for an eager mind.