Haikuist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who composes a traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a syllable pattern of five, seven, and five
2. Someone skilled in the art of writing haikus, often focusing on nature or moments in time
3. An individual who creatively expresses ideas and emotions through concise verse, adhering to specific structural rules of haiku poetry

Etymology: "Haikuist" is a plain formation: the noun "haiku" with the suffix "-ist," which marks a person who practises or writes something. Attaching "-ist" to a noun names someone devoted to that art, as with "novelist" or "pianist," so a haikuist is simply someone who composes haiku. The base word itself comes from Japanese, where "haiku" was the common shortened name for the seventeen-syllable verse form, drawn from the older "haikai" tradition. English speakers borrowed the term directly, so the suffix is the only English addition. The result is a transparent word whose parts both carry their meaning straight through.

Synonyms: poet, writer, lyricist, verse maker, stanzaist