Acclaimer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who celebrates, endorses, or recognizes someone or something for their merits or qualities
2. A person who publicly expresses admiration or support for an achievement, event, or character trait
3. Someone who loudly praises or applauds a person, event, or accomplishment

Etymology: "Acclaimer" is a plain English formation: the verb "acclaim" with the agent suffix "-er," which turns a verb into the name for the person doing the action, as in "teacher" or "singer." The verb "acclaim" came first, borrowed from Latin "acclamare," meaning "to shout at," built from "ad-" (to) and "clamare" (to cry out). Its original sense was literally a loud shout of approval or greeting, which is why an acclaimer is, at root, someone who cries out in praise. The suffix "-er" has a longer road into English. It descends from Latin "-arius," which formed nouns denoting a person connected with something, and passed through Old French "-ier" into Middle English "-er." Old English had its own native "-ere" with the same agent function, so the ending was already familiar to English speakers well before the Norman-era French forms reinforced it.

Synonyms: supporter, advocate

Antonyms: critic, opponent