rhetorician
UK[ˌretəˈrɪʃ(ə)n]US[ˌretəˈrɪʃ(ə)n]
n
a person who is skilled in the art of rhetoric or public speaking.
n
a person who uses language in a clever but often insincere or deceptive way.
Morpheme Breakdown
rhetor
ician
rhetor
orator
ician
expert practitioner
Etymology
the word 'rhetorician' has a lineage tracing directly to the classical greek tradition of public discourse. its core, 'rhetor', referred to a master orator in the greek agora and political assemblies, a figure skilled in persuasive speech. this term passed into latin as 'rhetor' and later into old french as 'rethor'. the english suffix '-ician', indicating a specialist, was appended in the late middle english period, formalizing the term for one who practices or teaches the art of rhetoric. thus, the modern term encapsulates the evolution from a specific greek civic role to a broader designation for an expert in, and sometimes a manipulator of, persuasive language.
Analysis
Structure: rhetor (orator) + ician (expert practitioner)
rhetor originates from greek 'rhētōr', meaning 'public speaker' or 'orator'. ician is a suffix of english origin, derived via french from latin '-icianus', denoting a person skilled in or concerned with a particular field.
Examples
the debate was won not by the politician with the better policy, but by the more compelling rhetorician.
as a professor of classics, she was a noted rhetorician, analyzing the speeches of cicero.
critics accused him of being merely a clever rhetorician who used elegant words to obscure the truth.