lyricist

[ lir-uh-sist ]

noun

1. a person who writes the lyrics for songs.
2. a lyric poet.

lyricist

/ ˈlɪrɪsɪst /

noun

1. a person who writes the words for a song, opera, or musical play
2. Also calledlyrist a lyric poet

Word History and Origins

Origin of lyricist¹

First recorded in 1880–85; lyric + -ist

Example Sentences

I don’t profess to be the world’s greatest lyricist or anything, but I do try very hard and I wouldn’t say the age we’re in is a golden age of the word.

From Washington Blade

I grew up listening to Bloc Party and Kele is one of the greatest lyricists of his generation.

From Digiday

Instead, it was filled with quieter, stripped-down melodies that allowed Swift’s talents as a lyricist to shine.

From Vox

“I Am Easy to Find” was the first National record to decenter Berninger, also the band’s primary lyricist, by featuring several female singers including Kate Stables, Mina Tindle, Sharon Van Etten and Gail Ann Dorsey, David Bowie’s longtime bassist.

From Washington Post

Lyricist E. Y. “Yip” Harburg was as provocative as Hammerstein, though with a much less earnest, more whimsical sensibility.

From The Daily Beast

One of the many pleasures of the book is to see the lyricist frolic in another form.

From The Daily Beast

He is a gifted lyricist, but in the Hong Kong live music scene, rap is a niche genre.

From The Daily Beast

No one wrote about this subject in a way children could understand better than the famous American lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.

From The Daily Beast

Pindar, the greatest lyricist of the Greeks, wrote about athletic contests; athletes were his heroes.

From Project Gutenberg

Subjective this poet may be—is it not a virtue in the lyricist?

From Project Gutenberg

To pass down in history as an exceptional beauty is to inspire art ideals and to furnish a theme for the lyricist.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• composer
• musician
• poet
• songwriter