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cellist

cellist

18 3.5
A person who plays the cello, a large string instrument
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɛlɪst/
translation icon : violonchelista
  • The cellist played beautifully during the concert, captivating the audience with her music.
  • a young cellist
  • one cellist

In fact, the cellist Brian Gibson went on to play with Chris Cornell.

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Examples

  • "For a young cellist, this was a bit frightening, especially at 8:00 A.M."

    Academic text (2007)
  • Nick is a professional cellist in a graduate music program, and Alexi has been accepted to medical school.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • You know, to become a great cellist, it takes a lot of time, many, many thousands of hours.

  • Hey, I got some tickets to see a cellist.

  • My mom was a cellist.

  • One teacher was a cellist, earned a master's degree in performance, and taught for 2 years.

    Academic text (2014)
  • All of them had been taught by their father, an accomplished cellist who had studied music in Europe.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The great Canadian cellist Zara Nelsova started out life as Sarah Nelson.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The following summer, I performed Beethoven's Archduke trio with a violinist and cellist.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • And the whole truth isn't just that we need teachers and researchers and veterinarians too, and bakers and cellists and auctioneers.

Synonyms

violoncellist
vscellist
  • Archaic
9.1

A person who plays the cello, often in concerts or orchestras

is the common modern term rather than the older technical name

How Skilled

virtuoso
12 8.0
cellist
18 3.5
beginner
81 1.0

Surface Forms

cellist singular
cellists plural

Morphology

cellist = cello (transparent) = cello + ist

The word is a regular agent noun formed from 'cello' + '-ist'; learners who know 'cello' and the suffix '-ist' will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word cellist comes from cello, a shorter form of the Italian violoncello, which means 'small viol'. The ending -ist means 'a person who does something', as in artist, so a cellist is a person who plays the cello.