meteorologist

Etymology

It is formed from English meteorology + -ist,^[2][3] perhaps after Ancient Greek μετεωρολόγος (meteōrológos, “one who studies celestial and atmospheric phenomena”);^[2][4][5] Etymonline notes that the Greek word meant an astronomer.^[3] Meteorology is from μετεωρολογία (meteōrología, “the study of celestial phenomena”),^[2][3] ultimately from μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised up, high in the air”), and -λογία (-logía).^[3][1] An earlier word was meteorologician, from the 1570s.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An expert in or student of meteorology: 1638, in the fifth edition of Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED dated it to 1621,^[6] and Etymonline to the 1620s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

At first the word named a student of meteors in the old sense, all phenomena of the air and sky;^[3] Johnson (1755) defined a meteorologist as "a man skilled in meteors, or studious of them".^[7][3] The OED now defines meteorology as the science of atmospheric phenomena, especially with a view to forecasting the weather,^[2] and the American Heritage Dictionary adds a second sense of meteorologist, a person who reports and forecasts the weather, as on television.^[8] The OED notes the reduced form meterologist, which probably reflects a pronunciation that Webster's dictionaries have given since 1961.^[2]

Timeline

• 1638 – an expert in or student of meteorology.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A scientist who specializes in meteorology, the study of the atmosphere and the weather.^[4][2][8]
2. A person who reports and forecasts the weather, as on television.^[8][1]

Related words

• meteorology
• meteor
• meteorological

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin