Trombonists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Musicians who play the trombone, often skilled in genres such as jazz and classical
2. individuals who specialize in performing with a brass instrument that has a sliding mechanism
3. artists who contribute their musical talents to ensembles or orchestras that feature this specific wind instrument

Etymology: "Trombonist" is formed from "trombone" plus the agent suffix "-ist," which marks a person who practises or plays something. The instrument's name is Italian: "trombone" is the augmentative of "tromba," meaning "trumpet," so the name literally means something like "big trumpet." Italian musicians applied it to the slide-equipped brass instrument by the 1500s, and English borrowed the name in the 1600s, when the instrument was becoming established in orchestras and military bands. The plural "trombonists" is simply the regular form of "trombonist," adding "-s" to mark more than one player. The agent noun itself dates to the 19th century, when "-ist" became a productive way to name performers of specific instruments, following patterns already common for pianist and violinist.

Synonyms: musicians, brass players, performers, instrumentalists, players