Typist

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtaɪpɪst/

Definitions

1. An individual who enters text using a keyboard typically as a profession produces written materials promptly and with precision
2. A person skilled in keyboarding generates written documents through typing, often serving in a professional capacity
3. A person who types text efficiently and accurately, often as a job, is responsible for creating various written documents and communications

Etymology: The word "typist" is a plain formation: the noun "type" with the agent suffix "-ist," meaning someone who does a particular activity. The suffix came into English through Middle English from Old French "-iste," which in turn came from Latin "-ista," borrowed from Greek "-istēs." That Greek ending was used to name people who practise or follow a trade or belief, and it is the same ending found in words like "artist" and "dentist." "Type" is the older part of the story. It comes from Latin "typus," meaning a figure or impression, and from Greek "typos," a blow or mark left by a strike. Early type was literally a stamped or struck impression, and the sense of a metal character used for printing grew from that. Once people were setting metal letters, "typing" came to mean producing text with them, and "typist" followed as the name for the person doing it.

Synonyms: keyboardist, data entry clerk