Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who plays the piano.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A performer on the pianoforte.
Wiktionary
- n. A person who plays the piano, particularly with skill or as part of an orchestra.
- n. WWII A spy using radio or wireless telegraphy to keep in touch with headquarters during the Second World War
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A performer, esp. a skilled performer, on the piano.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a person who plays the piano
Etymologies
- From French pianiste, from Italian pianista. Also pian(o) + -ist. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Possibly related posts: (automatically generated) last week with my pianist .. who has been a waaaaaaay more than my pianist� …”
“A damp and cold New England morning seemed to be wreaking havoc on everyone's tuning — you know you're at an early-music concert when the pianist is pulling out a wrench to tune between movements.”
“Mr. Lindberg, a conservatory-trained pianist, is himself among the soloists, but his efforts are likely to be overshadowed by two of the Philharmonic's percussionists, Christopher Lamb and Daniel Druckman, whose arsenal of noise-making instruments will be augmented by various found objects, including sandpaper, stones and scrap metal.”
The Wall Street Journal: Lindberg Makes His Mark on the N.Y. Philharmonic
“Two years ago, Glen Hansard, singer/guitarist for the Irish group The Frames, and Markéta Irglová, a teenaged classical pianist from the Czech Republic, starred in a small independent film about a busker (like Hansard himself) and an immigrant flower seller on the streets of Dublin.”
“Two years ago, Glen Hansard, singer/guitarist for the Irish group The Frames, and Markéta Irglová, a teenaged classical pianist from the Czech Republic, starred in a small independent film about a busker (like Hansard himself) and an immigrant flower seller on the ...”
“WHRB 95.3 FM has a tribute today to the late Hank Jones, a great pianist from a great jazz family, who died few days ago.”
“EE: While we all know you're an accomplished pianist, is it true you listen to Handel whilst you write?”
“The Russian-born pianist is accompanying his talented students from the University's performing arts program.”
“The fact that his songs sound equally good - if not better - when accompanied by only a pianist is testament to his songwriting skills (though the beer didn't hurt either).”
I've had my fill of palm trees and lighting up Grauman's Chinese (Music (For Robots))
“Thus character development of the pianist is top rated, as well as the Szpilman family which effectively portrayed beloved qualities and closeness set up to be heartbreakingly torn apart.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pianist’.
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MUSIC - jazz
Afro, habanera, pentatonic scale, bop, bebop, jazz, cool jazz, pentatonic, malignment, music genre, jazz musician, syncopate and 437 more...
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Words that sound dirty but aren't.
When you want to be pedantic AND childish.
titular, masticate, condiment, titmouse, penal, formication, social intercourse, assassination, cacophony, lucubrate, rectify, banal and 131 more...
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Play it again sam
public list. words related to the word 'piano'
pianist, piano fangblenny, pianoforte, baby grand, keys, pedal, a percussion with..., piano boxer, grand piano, chordophone, harpsichord, felt hammers and 33 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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Ugliest Words Ever
words that I refuse to say out loud.
tuna, uranus, bulbous, vaginal, rectum, cunnilingus, flatulance, pedagogy, blooper, booger, beefy, polyp and 116 more...
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Words That Sound Dirty but Really Aren't
annals, assassinate, bisect, bubbly, caucus, caulk, colloquialism, concoct, condominium, congeal, congenital, convex and 131 more...
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Words that sound dirty, but aren't
Inspired by a Candid Camera sketch.
horehound, fugue, ramrod, jocular, thespian, titmouse, masticate, pussyfoot, angina, booby, formicate, hoar and 64 more...
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who I am
traveller, solitary, imaginative, pensive, habitual, nostalgic, introspective, reticent, bashful, introverted, musical, obsessive and 9 more...
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and you and I
Character sketches: people in words.
bitter, dignity, seventeen, mouth, eccentric, maiden, scientist, daughter, cynic, traveller, rogue, bones and 8 more...
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Words That Make Me Giggle
because i might as well be a 10-year-old boy
wiener, pianist, diarrhea, commode, teetee, anus, penile, bauble, unitard, cockpit, dipstick, buttocks
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The No-No List
Words I absolutely will not say aloud to people unless I'm sure they know exactly what I'm talking about. Also words that require great diligence in pronunciation, so no one is offended by a slight...
sects, norfolk, dam, niggardly, shih tzu, push it, gaze, retardant, seaman, penal, cummin, frigate and 42 more...
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daroethk's list
pianist, christian, mee maw, mom, wife, msuic, teacher, web designer, emporia, bon air, daughter, adams and 5 more...
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Public Pronouncements
Words to say carefully in public lest someone mishear you.
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betta' watch yo'self
words that could get you in trouble around those who don't know what they mean
niggardly, sets, sects, barbituate, pianist, dastard, chigger
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pianist.
tbtabby Every pianist should invest in a chirogymnast. Feb 18, 2009
frindley Regional variations – I have come across all of these in my neck of the woods:
P-YANno as in nano-second
P-YANnist as in cannister
PYEERnist drop the American r
PYAHno closest the Aussies get to the Italian pronunciation, unfortunately it's guaranteed to make one sound posh and pretentious, as would…
PYAHnist
The Shorter Oxford makes an interesting distinction in pronunciation based on definition/usage:
piano, as in the musical term meaning soft, is pronounced /'pjɑ�?nəʊ/ , i.e. close to the Italian
But piano as in the musical instrument (piano-forte) is pronounced /pɪ'anəʊ/, with the stress moved and the change of vowels.
Pianist is officially /'pɪənɪst/ Nov 9, 2008
sakhalinskii And whoever said rude humour wasn't allowed on this site. :P Nov 9, 2008
tbtabby Yakko, Wakko and Dot washed Beethoven's mouth out with soap when he said he was a pianist. Sep 20, 2008
chained_bear Which careful pronunciation and frequent mis-hearing reminds me of the joke show on "30 Rock": "The Rural Juror." Nov 28, 2007
bilby It's badly pronounced in Australia. I know what kind of instrument to associate with a pi-an-ist. But what does a peen-is(t) play? Is it some kind of organ? Nov 28, 2007
oroboros This word requires special attention to proper pronunciation, especially in mixed company! Jun 28, 2007