opsimath
UK/ˈɒpsɪmæθ/US/ˈɑpsɪmæθ/
opsimath noun: a person who learns late in life.
Noun
opsimath (plural opsimaths)
- A person who learns late in life.
- But with reference to the latter, I may be permitted to say, that from the dissipation and idleness of his earlier years, Mr. Fox in Greek and Roman Literature was necessarily an Opsimath.1808, Palaeus, "Stipendiary Curates: Fox's Historical Work," in The Gentleman's Magazine, June, p. 480
- The truth is that Zola was an opsimath, who had read Stendhal, Flaubert, Balzac, the Goncourts and Taine late in life.1951, L. A. Bisson, “French Literature 1789-1914”, in R. L. Graeme Ritchie, editor, A Companion to French Studies, Methuen, page 297
Forms of opsimath
| plural | opsimaths |
|---|
Origin of opsimath
From the Ancient Greek ὀψιμαθής (opsimathḗs, “late in learning”), ultimately from ὀψέ (opsé, “late”) and μανθάνω (manthánō, “I learn”); compare opsimathy, philomath, and polymath. First appears c. 1808 in The Gentleman's Magazine.
Words formed from opsimath
Questions about opsimath
- What does opsimath mean?
- Opsimath means a person who learns late in life.
- What part of speech is opsimath?
- Opsimath is a noun.
- How do you pronounce opsimath?
- Opsimath is pronounced /ˈɒpsɪmæθ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of opsimath?
- The plural of opsimath is opsimaths.
Words near opsimath in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: opsimath (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “opsimath.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/opsimath. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.