Hypnotist

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɪpnətɪst/

Definitions

1. A professional who uses techniques to create a trance state for therapeutic or entertainment goals
2. An expert in inducing altered consciousness through suggestion, often to assist with behavioral change or performance enhancement
3. A specialist who employs psychological methods to induce a trance-like state for various purposes, including therapy and entertainment

Etymology: The suffix does most of the work here. "-ist" passed into English through Old French and Latin, but its ultimate source is the Ancient Greek ending "-istēs," which named a person who practised or followed something, as in "kitharistēs," a lyre player. Greek formed these agent nouns from verbs ending in "-izein," so the suffix was built to label people by their activity. The word "hypnotist" is itself a modern construction. It is formed from "hypnotise," which was coined from Greek "hypnos," meaning sleep, and then extended with "-ist" to name the practitioner. Strictly, then, the term describes someone who induces the sleep-like state that the Greek root points to, rather than an ancient profession. The word's core is the Greek "hypnos," so a hypnotist is, etymologically, a person who works in sleep. The suffix "-ist" once meant only "one who does the thing," and the word has kept that plain meaning.

Synonyms: mesmerist, therapist