Where does “guitarist” come from?
Guitarist comes from English guitar plus the Latin suffix -ista, derived from Ancient Greek κιθάρα meaning a stringed instrument, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots denoting playing or vibration.
guitarist (English): Someone who plays a guitar
Definitions
- Someone who plays a guitar
Ancestry of “guitarist”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ist | Added to words to form nouns denoting |
| 2 | Old French | -iste | — |
| 3 | Latin | -ista | -ist; one who practises or believes |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ιστής | Alternative form of -τής; -ist |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | -tās | — |
Words derived from “guitarist”