Agency Dictionary
Guitarist
nounPronunciation: /ɡɪˈtɑːr.ɪst/
In Portuguese: Violonista
Arts, Music & MediaWhat does “Guitarist” mean?
A musician who plays the guitar with technical skill and artistic interpretation.
Etymology
Formed in English from guitar and the suffix -ist, which names a person by the instrument played, as in pianist and violinist. Guitar comes from Spanish guitarra, which received the word through Arabic from Greek kithara, the name of an ancient stringed instrument. Cithara and zither are other descendants of the same Greek word.
Usage note
English uses guitarist for players of both acoustic and electric instruments and adds a word when needed: classical guitarist, lead guitarist.
Synonyms
- guitar player
- picker
- strummer
Often confused with
- violinist
- A violinist plays the violin; the Portuguese word violonista, close in form, means a guitarist.
Word family
- guitar
Usage examples
I started playing with my voice when I was a kid, and I was a professional Classical guitarist until my 20s, so you see that it took me a long time to start working professionally and digitally with voices and sounds.
Concept
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
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