cynic

Meanings

1. A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.
2. A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.

1. cynical (in all senses)
2. Relating to the Dog Star.

1. A member of a sect of Ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.

1. Of or relating to the Cynics.

Etymology

From Middle English cynike, cynicke, from Middle French cynique, from Latin cynicus, from Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós), originally derived from the portico in Athens called Κυνόσαργες (Kunósarges), the earliest home of the Cynic school, later reinterpreted as being derived from κύων (kúōn, “dog”), in a contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.