Cynic comes into English from Greek. It comes from the Greek word “kuníkos” which was originally an adjective meaning “doglike” which in turn comes from the Greek word “kuōn” meaning “dog.”
So how did we get from “dog” to “cynic”? It goes back to the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope who was nicknamed “kuōn.” It is reported that Diogenes barked in public; that he urinated like a dog on the leg of a table and on people who disagreed with him; that he masturbated in public; that he defecated in the theater; and that he engaged in other unacceptable behaviors in the street. If he was in the marketplace when he was hungry, he would eat even though eating in the marketplace was not seen as acceptable behavior.
Cynicism as an ancient school of Greek philosophy viewed the purpose of life as living a life of virtue in agreement with nature. The cynics called for a rejection of the conventional desires for power, wealth, sex, and fame. The idea was to live a simple life which was free from all possessions. While this philosophy was first articulated by Antisthenes in the fifth century BCE, it was carried to its logical extremes by Diogenes of Sinope. Diogenes is generally viewed as the archetypal Cynic philosopher.
Some artists’ conceptions of Diogenes are shown above.
While calling the first Cynics, such as Diogenes, dogs was intended to be an insult, the Cynics took pride in this designation. They pointed out that the dog is shameless and that shamelessness is not beneath modesty, but superior to it. In addition, dogs are indifferent to their way of life, and thus they eat and have sex in public. Dogs can also distinguish between friends and enemies. The Cynics claim that, like dogs, they can recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy and receive them kindly, while those who are enemies, that is, those who are unsuited to philosophy, they drive away by barking at them.
Some scholars have pointed out that the Q document (seen as the common source of some New Testament gospels) seems to have been influenced by the Cynics. Some feel that Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was a Cynic, or at least Cynic-like, though not in the style of Diogenes.
“Cynic” appears to have been incorporated into English between 1547 and 1564. By 1596, “cynic” had acquired the meaning of “faultfinder.”