2347: philanthropy vs. philandery May 22, 2021

Both 'philanthropy' and 'philandery' are doublets, coming from the very same Greek root of φίλ- (phil-) for 'love (of)' and while the latter halves may differ, the Greek ἄνθρωπος (anthropos) and ἀνήρ (andros) are understood to be variants cases of the word meaning 'man'. These had fairly similar meanings—certainly compared to today—in the past, but starting in the 18th century the term (or really name) was used for a lover in drama, poetry etc. with the word eventually meaning basically 'a flirt'. In the 20th century, the word gained even more serious way denoting a man with more serious romantic involvement with women than just flirting, with ''philanthropy' retaining its sense of 'charity'.