Vocalist
nounA singer, especially the one who sings the lead in a band or with an orchestra.
How to spell vocalist
8 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce vocalist
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does vocalist mean?
- nounA singer, especially the one who sings the lead in a band or with an orchestra.
Vocalist in a sentence
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The band is auditioning for a new lead vocalist this weekend.
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As a session vocalist, she recorded backing harmonies for several albums.
Where does vocalist come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word traces back to the Latin vox, meaning 'voice', and its related adjective vocalis, meaning 'sounding' or 'speaking aloud'. From vocalis English already had the adjective 'vocal', describing anything to do with the voice, and the noun 'vocalist' was formed from it by adding the suffix -ist, which marks a person who practises a particular skill or art. It came into use in the early 1800s as music writing grew, naming a singer as distinct from an instrumentalist. The same vox root sits inside everyday relatives such as 'voice', 'vocation' (originally a 'calling'), and 'advocate' (literally one 'called to' help). The unstressed middle vowel, the schwa in 'voc-a-list', is the small spelling trap, since the ear gives little clue that the letter there is an 'a'.
How the word is built
- vocal- (from Latin vox, voice)
- -ist (one who does or specialises)
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