Proper noun

Singular Plato

Plural -

Plato

1. Greek philosopher, 427-347 BC, follower of Socrates.
2. A male given name.
   • 1993 Nina Bawden, The Real Plato Jones, Houghton Miffin Harcourt, ISBN 0395669723, page 1:

     My name is Plato Jones. Plato Constantine Jones. Plato because my mother is Greek, and Jones because my father is Welsh, and Constantine after his father, my grandfather, who is Constantine Llewellyn Jones.

Derived terms

• platonic
• platonic love
• platonic solid

• platonic hydrocarbons
• Platonism

Anagrams

• A plot

Latin

Proper noun

Plato m. (Platonis)

1. Plato, a Greek philosopher

   Lectitavisse Platonem studiose.

   To have often read Plato zealously.

Derived terms

• Platonicus m., Platonica f., Platonicum n.
• Platonici m. (Platonists)

Plato (pronounced /ˈpleɪtoʊ/, Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, "broad"; 428/427 BCE – 348/347 BCE), was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato was originally a student of Socrates, and was as much influenced by his thinking as by his apparently unjust execution.

Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts.

Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, rhetoric and mathematics.

Biography