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Glite Dictionary
psalmist

psalmist

3 9.9
A person who writes or sings the religious songs in the Bible
  • noun
  • /ˈsɑlmɪst/
translation icon : salmista
  • Many consider David to be the greatest psalmist of the Old Testament.
  • psalmist says

And I think also of the psalmist who said I shall not die, but I shall live.

Examples

  • I relate it to David, the psalmist, who said: Thou hast picked me up from the dunghill and placed my feet on a solid rock.

    Higher Ground (2011)

  • We know pain, but the psalmist helps us celebrate both our survival and God's love for us.

    Blog text (27)

  • And I think also of the psalmist who said I shall not die, but I shall live.

    Triggernometry

  • As the Psalmist asked, where can we go where God is not there?

    Blog text (20)

  • And now, let us pray with the Psalmist.

    Over the Top (1987)

  • "In thy light we see light," said the psalmist many thousand years ago.

    Academic text (1993)

  • We are a people who believe that we have to learn to pray with the Psalmist.

    Blog text (11)

  • Notice how God led the psalmist to savor his created world and, in the process, restored his soul.

    Blog text (18)

  • "Delight yourself in the Lord," the Psalmist urges, "and He will give you the desires of your heart."

    Blog text (14)

  • In Psalm 119:18, the psalmist prays to God, "Open my eyes to see clearly the wonders of your teachings."

    Blog text (8)

Synonyms

composer
vspsalmist
316 3.9

A person who writes music as a job

focuses on sacred scriptural songs rather than broad professional music composition
hymnist
vspsalmist
8.0

A person who writes religious songs for use in worship

is linked especially to sacred songs from scripture rather than general worship songs
melodist
vspsalmist
7.7

A person who writes or performs tunes

emphasizes sacred text and worship context rather than only melody creation
poet-singer
vspsalmist
6.7

A person who writes and sings folk songs that tell stories

belongs mainly to religious scripture songwriting rather than folk performance traditions

Surface Forms

psalmist singular
psalmists plural

Morphology

psalmist = psalm (transparent) = psalm + ist

The suffix '-ist' is commonly used to denote someone who practices or is concerned with something, making the word's meaning clear.

Etymology

Psalmist comes from the old word psalm, meaning 'song', and from psallein, meaning 'to pluck' or 'play on strings', because psalms were songs often played on a harp. So a psalmist is someone who writes or sings these songs of praise, which is why the word means a writer or singer of psalms.