A Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address
This word is rarely used in its technical philosophical sense, referring to Pyrrho and his followers in Greek antiquity who doubted the possibility of real knowledge of any kind.
It is more usually used in the general sense of one who is unwilling readily to believe what he hears, especially the claims of others about their achievements.
It occurs rarely as a vocative, but Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, has: ‘“Am I a liar in your eyes?” he asked passionately. “Little sceptic, you shall be convinced.”’ If this word occurred in an American novel it would be spelt ‘skeptic’, which is closer to the Greek original.
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