---
title: philistine — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «philistine» in the school dictionary: The Philistines were an ancient people who lived along the coast of Canaan and were often at war with the Israelites; Goliath was a Philistine. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# philistine

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Philistines, ancient people, Goliath, philistine, person, David · **What happens:** be, live, not care, understand, mean, kill · **To what, where:** ancient people, coast, war, Philistine, person, art · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«philistine» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [philistine in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/philistine.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: Bible — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Philistines were an ancient people who lived along the coast of Canaan and were often at war with the Israelites; Goliath was a Philistine.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:m1:1
# text = The Philistines were an ancient people who lived along the coast of Canaan and were often at war with the Israelites; Goliath was a Philistine.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Philistines	Philistine	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	ancient	ancient	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
7	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	along	along	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	coast	coast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	Canaan	Canaan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
15	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
16	often	often	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
17	at	at	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
19	with	with	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	Israelites	Israelite	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	26	punct	_	_
23	Goliath	Goliath	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	26	nsubj	_	_
24	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	Philistine	philistine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the Philistines | a ancient people and a Philistine |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | past | a ancient people and a Philistine |  |  | the coast of Canaan |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme along coast=Location |
| 3 | **is** | past | a ancient people and a Philistine *not said here* |  |  | war |  | with the Israelites; often *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **is a** | past | Goliath | a Philistine |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A philistine is a person who does not care about or understand art, music, books or culture.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:m2:1
# text = A philistine is a person who does not care about or understand art, music, books or culture.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	philistine	philistine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
7	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	care	care	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	obl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	conj	_	_
13	art	art	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	appos	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	culture	culture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a philistine | a person and music |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **care** | present · do-support | a person and music |  |  |  |  |  | vn care-88.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **understand** | infinitive | a person and music *not said here* | art |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer art=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As an adjective, philistine means not caring about art and culture.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:m3:1
# text = As an adjective, philistine means not caring about art and culture.
1	As	as	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	adjective	adjective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	philistine	philistine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	caring	care	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	xcomp	_	_
9	about	about	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	art	art	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	culture	culture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | philistine |  |  |  |  | as a adjective | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **care** *not said to happen* | gerund | philistine *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about art and culture | vn care-88.1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus what S»: agent=Experiencer about art=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(Bible) David killed Goliath, the Philistine giant, with a sling and a stone.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x1:1
# text = (Bible) David killed Goliath, the Philistine giant, with a sling and a stone.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	David	David	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	killed	kill	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	Goliath	Goliath	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	Philistine	Philistine	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	giant	giant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	sling	sling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	parataxis	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **kill** | past | David | Bible |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent goliath=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(Bible) Samson fought against the Philistines.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x2:1
# text = (Bible) Samson fought against the Philistines.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Samson	Samson	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	flat	_	_
5	fought	fight	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	against	against	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	Philistines	Philistine	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fight** | past | Bible |  |  |  |  | against the Philistines | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Philistines lived on the coast near Gaza.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x3:1
# text = The Philistines lived on the coast near Gaza.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Philistines	Philistine	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	coast	coast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	near	near	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	Gaza	Gaza	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | past | the Philistines |  |  | the coast |  | near Gaza | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on coast=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My uncle calls anyone who doesn't like opera a philistine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x4:1
# text = My uncle calls anyone who doesn't like opera a philistine.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	uncle	uncle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	calls	call	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	anyone	anyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
6	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	like	like	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl:relcl	_	_
9	opera	opera	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	philistine	philistine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present | My uncle |  | anyone |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent anyone=Recipient |
| 2 | **not** **like** | present · do-support |  |  |  |  |  | opera a philistine | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only a philistine would paint over that beautiful old mural.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x5:1
# text = Only a philistine would paint over that beautiful old mural.
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	philistine	philistine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	paint	paint	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	nsubj	_	_
8	beautiful	beautiful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	mural	mural	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **paint** | would | a philistine |  |  | beautiful old mural |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.theme PP.destination»: agent=Agent over mural=Destination |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Museums are boring," said Ben. "You philistine!" laughed his sister.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* "Museums are boring," said Ben. "

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x6:1
# text = "Museums are boring," said Ben. "
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Museums	museum	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	boring	boring	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
8	Ben	Ben	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Museums |  |  |  |  | boring *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Ben |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* You philistine!" laughed his sister.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:philistine:x6:2
# text = You philistine!" laughed his sister.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	philistine	philistine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
5	laughed	laugh	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **philistine** |  | You |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **laugh** *in a quote* | past |  |  | Ben's sister |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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