Etymology

sybarite

sy·bar·ite
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Today it means: A person devoted to luxury and pleasure; a hedonist. Full definition →

Latin Sybarīta ← Ancient Greek Σῠβᾰρῑ́της
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sybarite · noun, adjective1

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΣῠβᾰρῑ́της“(noun) inhabitant of Sybaris; (adjective) decadent; self-indulgent”
  2. Latin · learned borrowing fromSybarīta
  3. English todaysybarite

The noun is a learned borrowing from Latin Sybarīta + English -ite (suffix forming demonyms). Sybarīta is derived from Ancient Greek Σῠβᾰρῑ́της (Sŭbărī́tēs, “(noun) inhabitant of Sybaris; (adjective) decadent; self-indulgent”), from Σῠ́βᾰρῐς (Sŭ́bărĭs, “Sybaris”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming demonyms)). Sybaris, a city of Magna Graecia (the coastal parts of Sicily and southern Italy once colonized by Greek settlers), was known for its wealth and the excesses and hedonism of its inhabitants. The adjective is derived from the noun.

Sybarite · noun2

From Sybaris + -ite.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.