Origin and history of sophistry

"one who makes use of fallacious arguments," late 15c., from Late Latin sophista, an alternative form of sophistes; the earlier form in English was sophister, sophistre (late 14c.). Latin sophistes is from Greek sophistēs "a master of one's craft; a wise or prudent man, one clever in matters of daily life," from sophizesthai "to become wise or learned," from sophos "skilled in a handicraft, cunning in one's craft; clever in matters of everyday life, shrewd; skilled in the sciences, learned; clever; too clever," a word of unknown origin.

Greek sophistēs came to mean "one who gives intellectual instruction for pay," and at Athens, contrasted with "philosopher," it was a term of contempt.

Sophists taught before the development of logic and grammar, when skill in reasoning and in disputation could not be accurately distinguished, and thus they came to attach great value to quibbles, which soon brought them into contempt. [Century Dictionary]

The "learned man" sense in English is attested from 1610s but is rare.

mid-14c., sophime, "subtle but fallacious argument devised for purposes of deceit or to exercise one's ingenuity," from Old French sophime, sofisme "a fallacy, false argument" (Modern French sophisme) and directly from Latin sophisma, from Greek sophisma "clever device, skillful act, stage-trick," from stem of sophizesthai "become wise," sophizein "make wise, instruct" (see sophist). The second -s- begins to be reinserted in English from 15c. From 1760s as "sophistry," a sense best left to that word.