scientist Meaning, Definition & Usage

Sci"en*tist noun

Definitions

1. One learned in science; a scientific investigator; one devoted to scientific study; a savant. Recent ✍ Twenty years ago I ventured to propose one [a name for the class of men who give their lives to scientific study] which has been slowly finding its way to general adoption; and the word scientist, though scarcely euphonious, has gradually assumed its place in our vocabulary. B. A. Gould (Address, 1869). MW10 gives 1834 as first ref. date.