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pianist

pianist

84 2.6
A person who plays the piano, often as a job or with great skill
  • noun
  • /ˈpiːənɪst/
translation icon : pianista
  • And Ethan Iverson, their pianist, has some of the most curious ears in jazz.
  • pianist's performance
  • pianist plays
  • pianist performs

He says, I'm, I'm he's a young pianist and Miles Davis is the master.

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Examples

  • Leonard Bernstein is a composer, conductor and pianist.

  • Alexa asked the pianist to play AB flat.

  • You know, if you want to become a master pianist, right?

  • Apparently, I am a master pianist.

  • No dance music was provided on Monday nights, but a pianist was at work in one corner.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • David is a wonderful jazz pianist.

  • Uncle Jack was a concert pianist, and he had traveled all over the world.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • And Samantha became a brilliant pianist.

  • By age seventeen, he was a professional pianist and had acquired the nickname "Duke."

    Academic text (1999)
  • Samantha became a brilliant pianist after years of practice and dedication.

Synonyms

musician
vspianist
644 1.8

A person who plays or writes music for others

refers specifically to one skilled keyed performer rather than all music roles
piano player
vspianist
22 2.3

A person who plays the piano

is the same but stresses professional status and notable skill
keyboardist
vspianist
6 3.8

A musician who plays piano or other instruments with keys

focuses on acoustic keyed performance and classical or solo work
instrumentalist
vspianist
5 5.3

A person who plays a musical instrument, often as a job

concentrates on a single keyed instrument rather than many instruments
ivory-pounder
vspianist
  • Informal
9.9

A skilled piano player who often plays classical music

is the neutral, standard term rather than playful slang

How Skilled

virtuoso
12 8.0
pianist
84 2.6
amateur
122 2.8

Surface Forms

pianist singular
pianists plural

Morphology

pianist = piano (transparent) = piano + ist

Clear agentive formation: the productive suffix '-ist' added to the known noun 'piano' yields a person associated with that instrument.

Etymology

Pianist comes from piano, which is short for the older name pianoforte made from Italian words meaning 'soft' and 'loud'. The -ist part means a person who does something, like in 'violinist', so a pianist is someone who plays the piano.