comparatist
1
8.5
- noun
- /kəmˈpærəˌtɪst/
- Specialized
- A good comparatist can reveal similarities and differences between various literary traditions.
Examples
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Many comparatists attend conferences to discuss literature from diverse cultures and time periods.
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To this group, one might include a few octogenarians, such as Abrams's former student Harold Bloom and the comparatist and Bible translator Robert Alter.
Blog text (13) -
Perez de Hita employs this comparatist strategy throughout Part I in cases where two or more ballads have been written about the same event.
Academic text (1997) -
Comparatists seem to be in the best position to lessen the tensions between two, at times, quite militant lots.
Academic text (1994) -
It may even be that this comparatist perspective will eventuate in a shift in the literary center of gravity, from the nationalist American Renaissance to the transatlantic enterprise of a later era.... 19
Academic text (1997) -
The work of a comparatist highlights the connections between ancient texts and modern literature.
Synonyms
1
9.5
A person who studies similarities and differences between languages, cultures, or texts
Surface Forms
Morphology
comparatist = comparative (transparent) = compare + atist
The suffix '-ist' clearly indicates a person involved in a particular activity or field.
Etymology
Comparatist comes from the verb compare, made of com- 'with' and a root meaning 'to put together', plus the ending -ist 'a person who does something'. Think of a comparatist as someone who puts texts, languages, or cultures side by side to find similarities and differences, which is exactly what the word means today.