linguist

American  

[ling-gwist] / ˈlɪŋ gwɪst /

noun

1. a specialist in linguistics.

2. a person who is skilled in several languages; polyglot.

---

linguist British  

/ ˈlɪŋɡwɪst /

noun

1. a person who has the capacity to learn and speak foreign languages

2. a person who studies linguistics

3. the spokesman for a chief

---

Etymology

Origin of linguist

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin lingu(a) “tongue, speech” + -ist

Example Sentences

The foreign ministry said the family of linguist and researcher Dennis Coyle had written to the supreme leader of Afghanistan, asking that he be released and pardoned for Eid.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Michael Hahn, a linguist based in Saarbrücken, set out to answer that question with Richard Futrell from the University of California, Irvine.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026

“There’s Communications Hill featuring a tower that’s part of the history of Silicon Valley,” the speech-recognition linguist said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

He was a magician, a linguist who reinvented and built his own emotional vernacular.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

The linguist Mark Liberman calls them misnegations, and points out that “they’re easy to fail to miss”: After a couple of days in Surry County, I found myself no less closer to unraveling the riddle.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker