pianist

Etymology

It is borrowed from French pianiste,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} which Etymonline and Merriam-Webster derive from Italian pianista.^[3][2] The OED instead takes it as formed from English piano + -ist, probably after the French word, recorded from 1807, and notes that the Italian one is recorded only from 1826.^[8] The French form pianiste was itself used in English from 1816.^[3][5] Piano is a shortening of pianoforte.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who plays the piano: 1817 in Merriam-Webster,^[2] 1820 in the OED, from The Times,^[8] and 1822 in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word has meant a player of the piano throughout, and especially a skilled or professional one.^[8][2] In the forces' slang of the mid 20th century a pianist was also a radio operator, recorded from 1955.^[8][5]

Timeline

• 1816 – pianiste, in its French form.^[3]
• 1817 – a person who plays the piano.^[2]
• 1955 – a radio operator (services' slang).^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who plays the piano, especially a skilled or professional performer: a concert pianist.^[2][8]
2. (slang) A radio operator.^[8][5]

Related words

• piano
• pianoforte

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press