Where does “gambist” come from?

gambist (English) comes from English gamba, from English gamble, from English gamel, from Middle English gamlen, from Middle English gamenen, from Old English gamenian, from Old English gamen, from Proto-West Germanic gaman — whale, sea monster; abyss.

gambist (English): Someone who plays the viola da gamba

Definitions

  1. Someone who plays the viola da gamba

Ancestry of “gambist”, step by step

gambist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English gamba

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgambaAbbreviation of viola da gamba; A rank of organ...
2EnglishgambleA bet or wager; A significant risk, undertaken...
3Englishgamel
4Middle Englishgamlen
5Middle EnglishgamenenAlternative form of gamen
6Old Englishgamenianto entertain or enjoy oneself; to display...
7Old Englishgamengame, sport, or pastime; joy, mirth, or pleasure
8Proto-West Germanicgamanpleasure, fun, amusement, entertainment
9Proto-Germanicgamanąa fellow human, associate, companion; pleasure,...
10Proto-Germanicga-Indicates association or togetherness; co-;...
11Proto-Indo-Europeanḱómbeside, near, by, with
12Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
13Middle Englishkyt
14Russianкитwhale; genitive plural of ки́та
15Old Church Slavonicкитъwhale
16Ancient Greekκῆτοςwhale, sea monster; abyss

via English ist

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishistA practitioner or supporter of an ism
2English-istAdded to words to form nouns denoting
3Old French-iste
4Latin-ista-ist; one who practises or believes
5Ancient Greek-ιστήςAlternative form of -τής; -ist
6Ancient Greek-τήςAppended to verbs to form agent nouns
7Proto-Hellenic-tās
Every word from Ancient Greek κῆτοςEvery word from Old Church Slavonic китъEvery word from Russian кит