Scholastikos

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Characterized by the methods and principles of scholastic philosophy and theology, which emphasize dialectical reasoning
2. Pertaining to the academic or traditional teachings within medieval universities that focused on a logical analysis of faith
3. Relating to scholarly pursuits that seek to reconcile faith with reason through structured argumentation and analysis of texts

Etymology: The Greeks did not link school with classrooms. "Scholē" meant leisure, the free time a person could spend on things other than work, and it is the ancestor of English "school." Someone who spent that leisure studying or following a teacher was a "scholastikos," a word that described a person devoted to learning. Latin borrowed the idea as "scholasticus," and in the Middle Ages it narrowed. The teachers of the cathedral and university schools in Western Europe, known as schoolmen, applied strict logical method to theology, and their approach came to be called scholasticism. English inherited this technical sense, so a scholastic argument meant one built on fine distinctions and formal reasoning rather than on mere learning.

Synonyms: scholastic, academic, learned, erudite, pedantic

Antonyms: unschooled, ignorant, unlearned, illiterate, uninformed