pianist

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who plays the piano, especially professionally or with considerable skill

   The pianist returned to the stage for a final encore.

2. 2
   noun

   historical slang: a clandestine radio operator, especially an agent communicating by wireless during the Second World War

   The resistance cell's pianist transmitted a coded report to London.

Common collocations

• concert pianist Noun + noun

Borrowed from French pianiste and Italian pianista, formed from piano + an agent suffix corresponding to English -ist. The wartime radio-operator sense was covert slang, probably comparing rapid manipulation of telegraph keys with playing a keyboard.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images