Logomachist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who engages in arguments or disputes focused on the meanings or use of words
2. A person who habitually debates over word definitions or linguistic details
3. An individual who contests or bickers about the interpretation or choice of words

Etymology: "Logomachist" is formed from "logomachy" plus the suffix "-ist," and the parts carry the word's whole history. "Logomachy" comes from Greek "logomachia," a combination of "logos," meaning word or reason, and "machē," meaning battle or fight, so the literal sense is a war of words. The Greek word was used for verbal contests, and English borrowed it with the same sense of a dispute fought over language. The ending does most of the work in making a person out of the fight. The suffix passed into English through Latin "-ista," then Old French "-iste," and Middle English "-ist," and it traces back to Greek "-istēs," which marked someone who practices or follows an activity. Attaching it to "logomachy" yields a label for the practitioner: a person who thrives on quarrels about words themselves.