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cartographer

cartographer

7 7.5
A person who makes maps
  • noun
  • /kɑːrˈtɒɡrəfər/
translation icon : cartógrafo
  • Many cartographers collaborate with scientists to ensure maps are both informative and precise.
  • cartographer maps
  • Dutch cartographer
  • most cartographers

Examples

  • Vincent was an immigrant architect and cartographer who arrived in Savannah in 1851 and died five years later, at the age of twenty-seven.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Now, I've asked our cartographer to point on the map...

  • Doesn't take an expert cartographer to tell the difference.

  • In attempting to map biblical places, cartographers face a variety of challenges.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Smith, the cartographer, digitally mapped the position of each body.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The migrations of one cartographer, sixty-year-old Ivaluartjuk, are perhaps representative of the average pattern.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Two Inuit cartographers add information to a British chart for explorer John Ross in 1830.

    Academic text (1990)
  • By presenting new, improved, and corrected maps of Africa, cartographers helped to shape and legitimize the process of imperialist expansion.

    Academic text (1994)
  • As a skilled cartographer, she creates detailed maps of the changing landscapes.

  • The cartographer used advanced technology to accurately depict the new city layout.

Synonyms

mapmaker
vscartographer
3 3.5

A person who draws maps using computer tools

is specifically a person who draws or produces charts
mapper
vscartographer
1 5.8

A person who makes maps or marks information on charts

is the professional job of drawing and producing charts in general
topographer
vscartographer
7.3

A person who makes detailed maps of land features like rivers and hills

is a broader professional role making charts of many types not only land

How Skilled

cartographer
7 7.5
map maker
1 2.9

Surface Forms

cartographer singular
cartographers plural

Morphology

cartographer = cartograph (semi-transparent) = cartograph + er

The agentive '-er' clearly yields 'one who makes maps', but the base 'cartograph' is relatively rare and not familiar to many learners.

Etymology

Cartographer comes from the parts carto- meaning 'map' and -graph meaning 'to write or draw', as you can see in words like chart and photograph. So a cartographer is someone who 'writes' or 'draws' maps, which is why the word means a person who makes maps.