pedant
Americannoun
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a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.
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a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.
- Synonyms:
- hairsplitter
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a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.
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Obsolete. a schoolmaster.
noun
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a person who relies too much on academic learning or who is concerned chiefly with insignificant detail
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archaic a schoolmaster or teacher
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pedant
First recorded in 1580–90; from Italian pedante “teacher, pedant”; apparently akin to pedagogue; see -ant
Explanation
A pedant is an annoying person who is focused on minor details and book knowledge rather than ordinary common sense. In war, it can be dangerous to have a pedant as commander — he'll insist on textbook maneuvers instead of adapting to circumstances on the ground. This word was borrowed from French pédant or Italian pedante "teacher, schoolmaster," but its ultimate origin is unknown. One theory is that the original meaning of Italian pedante was "foot soldier," associated with the Italian word pedagogo "teacher" because teachers are always on their feet. Another theory is that Italian pedante was formed from the root of Greek paideuein "to teach," which happens to be the source of English pedagogue "teacher." In fact, a pedagogue is a pedantic teacher.
Vocabulary lists containing pedant
Fahrenheit 451
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3
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The Taming of the Shrew
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Today, the pair stand as timely avatars of our contemporary crises — Wally the Milquetoast and André the Pedant, chronically overthinking about overthinking.
From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2021
At the risk of being Pedant of the Week, I have to say that the worst formulation of all, already many times repeated elsewhere, is that “Djokovic was defaulted.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 18, 2020
At the Apple iBooks store The Brooklyn Follies was £6.49, The Pedant in the Kitchen was £8.99, while 11.22.63 and The Bourne Identity were both £4.99.
From The Guardian • Oct. 11, 2012
When Jazz Pedant Rudi Blesh found her three months ago she was scraping trays in a Chicago cafeteria.
From Time Magazine Archive
“I have as good a right to make a Word, he insisted, “as that Pedant Bigot Cynic and Monk.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
