Miscellanist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who actively explores different topics and fields of study is often a diverse thinker
2. An individual who gathers and studies various subjects demonstrates a broad intellectual curiosity
3. Someone who collects and studies information from many different areas of knowledge

Etymology: "Miscellanist" is a plain formation: "miscellany" with the suffix "-ist," which marks a person who practises or pursues something. A miscellanist, then, is someone whose pursuits are a mixture, a person who collects and studies many different subjects rather than one. The base word, "miscellany," comes from Latin "miscellanea," meaning a mixture or medley, itself from "miscellus," mixed, from "miscere," to mix. Its earliest English use was as a plain adjective-like sense of mixed things, and the noun for a collection of assorted writings followed. The suffix "-ist" arrived in English through Latin and Greek, where it denoted a practitioner or adherent.