Theorist

How to spell theorist

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce theorist

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does theorist mean?

1. nounA person who develops, studies, or is concerned with the abstract principles of a subject rather than its practical application.

Theorist in a sentence

• The conference invited a leading economic theorist to explain the model.

• As a music theorist, she analysed the structure rather than performing the pieces.

Where does theorist come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek theoria, which meant 'a looking at', 'contemplation', or 'speculation', built on the verb theorein, 'to look at' or 'to observe'. The same root gave us 'theatre', because both involved the idea of viewing something attentively. From theoria came the Latin theoria and then the Renaissance English 'theory', a reasoned system of ideas put forward to explain something. By the early 1600s English had added the agent suffix -ist, borrowed through French and Latin from the Greek -istes, to form 'theorist', meaning a person who develops or works in theories rather than practice. The spelling keeps the Greek 'the-or-' core intact, so the tricky part for writers is remembering the 'eo' vowel pair and the single 'r' before the ending.

How the word is built

• theor- (from Greek theoria: contemplation, speculation)
• -ist (one who does or practises)