Philanthropist vs Philanderer

Does anyone else mix up these words? They have completely different meanings, but whenever I see either one I have to think for a minute about which one it is. Of course I know what they mean, it’s just that the “philan” at the beginning of both words throws me off, so I thought I’d take a look at the etymology.




A philanderer is a man who has lots of affairs. The word philander, meaning lover, comes from Philander, a former literary name for a lover, from philandros (Greek) meaning loving/fond of men, from the root phil (loving/fond) + andr (man). Interesting… the etymology kind of makes it sound like it should be synonymous with homosexual.

A philanthropist is someone who assists charitable causes. Philanthropy is from philanthropia (Latin) from philanthropos (Greek) meaning humane/benevolent, from the same root phil + anthropos meaning mankind.

Very interesting. So a philanderer is a man who loves men (or rather women), while a philanthropist loves mankind. A rather subtle but important distinction, no?

Le Mouv’ and Mots fléchés

My favorite French radio station is Le Mouv’. I started listening to it when I lived in Toulouse, and before I left I managed to find it on the internet. It’s a fairly good mix of music, mainly alternative rock (which they call indé, an apocope of indépendant), about half in French and half in English, with the occasional song in another language. Unfortunately, the connection can be a bit spotty. 🙁

I tend to put Le Mouv’ on in the morning while doing a mots fléchés, which I’ve become addicted to – I have to do one every morning – and then keep listening while doing non-work stuff.

“Noises Off”

I just saw one of the funniest movies ever – Noises Off, with Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Nicolette Sheridan, and Marilu Henner! Since it’s over 10 years old, it’s unlikely I would have ever picked it out myself, but I will forever be grateful that Netflix recommended it. The first half is just ok, but I laughed until I cried throughout the entire second half. Rent it, buy it, whatever – just see it!

Parental Peer Pressure

Last week I drove down to South Carolina with my husband and mother. Since it was a 12-hour trip, we rented a car and drove in two-hour shifts. Like many drivers, my husband and mother both tend to be a bit lead-footed on long trips, commonly going 15-20 miles over the limit. As for myself, I go no more than 7 over the limit – even if that means spending an extra hour in the car – to avoid having to pay a $100+ speeding ticket. (Yes, I stay in the right lane to allow all of the speeders to pass me.) Both of my travel companions were rather annoyed about my relative slowness, mocking me good-naturedly and trying to convince me about how much more fun it is to speed. Do you have any idea how odd it is to be peer-pressured into doing something “bad” by your own mother? 😉

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