noun
linguist
LIHNGG-wihst
noun
1
A scholar who studies the structure and history of language.
"The linguist traced how the word changed meaning over centuries."
"She trained as a linguist before becoming a translator."
2
Someone who speaks several languages well.
"He's a natural linguist, picking up new languages with ease."
How to Use Linguist
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA person who studies languages professionally, or simply someone good at learning them.
Common mistake
A linguist studies how language works; that's different from a "polyglot," who simply speaks many languages, though the two overlap.
Easily confused with
polyglot
Word Forms
linguists plural
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The _____ traced how the word changed meaning over centuries.
Etymology
From Latin lingua ("language") plus the suffix -ist.