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Added 9 October 2026

scientist

/ˈsaɪəntɪst/ noun

Latin root: stem Coined: 1834, by William Whewell Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about scientist at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

One whose activities make use of the scientific method to answer questions regarding the measurable universe. A scientist may be involved in original research, or make use of the results of the research of others.

Origin

Coined by English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in March 1834 in an anonymous review of Mary Somerville's book On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences in the Quarterly Review as a suggested replacement for, and later seriously introduced by him in 1840 (see the quotation) as a more precise substitute for, the terms natural philosopher and man of science. Modeled after artist, from the Latin stem scientia (“knowledge”) + -ist.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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