Philosophy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "The term philosophy comes from the ancient Greek word ... philo-sophia, which means 'love of wisdom'. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original meaning of the word encompassed all knowledge. Over time, it gained the more specialized meaning of knowledge of the world, as contrasted with knowledge of the divine. For example, science was originally called 'natural philosophy'. The most modern meaning of the word is the study of things that are ultimate, and of the most general causes and principles. ..."