sophisticated

Where does the word "sophisticated" come from? It comes from Greek sophistḗs, passing through Medieval Latin before entering English (1600s).

Sophisticated’s story begins in Greek: sophistḗs meant “wise teacher; quibbler.” A paid teacher of wisdom and rhetoric, whom Plato portrayed as a clever arguer for hire. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Medieval Latin as sophisticatus. 'adulterated, falsified', from sophisticare 'to use sophistry, to tamper with'. It reached English by 1600s as sophisticated. First meant 'not pure', of adulterated wine or drugs; 'worldly-wise' came in the late 1800s and 'technically advanced' in the 1940s. Today, sophisticated means having worldly experience and refined taste; highly developed and complex.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient sophistḗs "wise teacher; quibbler", a paid teacher of wisdom and rhetoric, whom Plato portrayed as a clever arguer for hire.
2. Stage 2 · Medieval Latin · medieval sophisticatus "adulterated", 'adulterated, falsified', from sophisticare 'to use sophistry, to tamper with'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s sophisticated "adulterated; worldly; complex", first meant 'not pure', of adulterated wine or drugs; 'worldly-wise' came in the late 1800s and 'technically advanced' in the 1940s.