Scientist Meaning
/ˈsaɪəntɪst/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne whose activities make use of the scientific method to answer questions regarding the measurable universe. A scientist may be involved in original research, or make use of the results of the research of others.
Sentence Examples
The scientist maintained that the theory should be tested through experiments.
The scientist insisted on proceeding with the research.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ carefully examined the DNA samples under a laboratory microscope to find a cure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ spent years in the laboratory developing a vaccine for the tropical disease.
Word Origin & History
Coined by English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in March 1834 in an anonymous review of Mary Somerville's book On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences in the Quarterly Review as a suggested replacement for, and later seriously introduced by him in 1840 (see the quotation) as a more precise substitute for, the terms natural philosopher and man of science. Modeled after artist, from the Latin stem scientia (“knowledge”) + -ist.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As we cannot use physician for a cultivator of physics, I have called him a physicist. We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a Scientist. Thus we might say, that as an Artist is a Musician, Painter, or Poet, a Scientist is a Mathematician, Physicist, or Naturalist."
— 1840, William Whewell, “Aphorisms Concerning the Language of Science. Aphorism XVI. In the Composition and Inflexion of Technical Terms, Philological Analogies are to be Preserved if Possible, but Modified According to Scientific Convenience.”, in The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, Founded upon Their History. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, →OCLC, paragraph 4(3), page cxiii:
"Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training."
— 2012 January, Stephen Ledoux, “Behaviorism at 100”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, United States: Sigma Xi, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 60:
"The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation."
— 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US Rules Human Genes Can’t Be Patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, →ISSN, page 10:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ carefully examined the DNA samples under a laboratory microscope to find a cure.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ spent years in the laboratory developing a vaccine for the tropical disease.