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Americanist

Americanist

1 8.9
A person who studies the languages, cultures, or history of the Americas
  • noun
  • /əˈmɛrɪkənɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : americanista
  • The conference brought together leading Americanists who shared their research on the impact of colonialism in the Americas.
  • Latin Americanists
  • Russian Americanists
  • Arab Americanists

Examples

  • Daniel Aaron, of Harvard, is one of our most revered Americanists, author of the classic study Writers.

    Blog text (13)
  • Because of all these organizations, Japan may have the largest population of Americanists outside of the United States.

    Academic text (1994)
  • In the process of discovery, the great majority of Japanese Americanists have come to share the values upon which American society is built.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Increasing our knowledge in this respect is, I believe, an urgent issue for U.S. Americanists.

    Academic text (2003)
  • While relations are good, the people appreciate the role of Americanists as interpreters of America.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Gaining access to this high-power environment is a precious opportunity for a non-American Americanist.

    Academic text (2003)
  • As early as 1980, the first Fulbright Americanist was sent to Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

    Academic text (1997)
  • Between 1994 and 1999, I was fortunate to solidify friendships with noted Russian Americanists.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Though still few in number, these scholars have begun to introduce new possibilities for comparative cultural studies between Americanists and Russianists.

    Academic text (2003)
  • "Now, when we hire a 19th-century Americanist, the expectation is that they will teach Harriet Jacobs as well as Frederick Douglass and maybe David Walker."

    Academic text (2016)

Surface Forms

Americanist singular
Americanists plural

Morphology

Americanist = American (transparent) = American + ist

Standard agentive formation: 'American' + '-ist' yields 'a person who studies or specializes in American(s)/American things', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Americanist comes from America plus the ending -ist, which you see in words like artist and means 'a person who studies or works with' something. So an Americanist is a person who studies the cultures, languages, or history of the Americas.