grammarian

American  

[gruh-mair-ee-uhn] / grəˈmɛər i ən /

noun

1. a specialist or expert in grammar.

2. a person who claims to establish or is reputed to have established standards of usage in a language.

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grammarian British  

/ ɡrəˈmɛərɪən /

noun

1. a person whose occupation is the study of grammar

2. the author of a grammar

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Etymology

Origin of grammarian

1350–1400; Middle English gramarien < Old French gramairien. See grammar, -ian

Explanation

A grammarian is someone who studies, writes about, teaches, and/or loves grammar. Some English teachers are grammarians — they’re the ones who don’t mind spending an afternoon discussing the Oxford comma. In case you’re underwhelmed, know that the word grammarian comes from the Old French word gramairien for "wise man, person who knows Latin, or magician." English-speaking grammarians don’t necessarily know Latin these days, but it wouldn’t hurt. Grammarians often write books on the parts of speech, diagramming sentences, or anything else about grammar and syntax. Wise? Yes. Magicians? Rarely.

Example Sentences

That construction grates my grammarian soul because it is a misuse of the term “Catch-22.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 20, 2020

To be completely candid, I found Simon’s intellectual posturing, rarefied vocabulary and grammarian cavils trying.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2019

When Eric Peterson gave his report as the official grammarian of this meeting, he spent most of his time pointing out words he liked: ephemeral, ruminate, affinity.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2019

If this sounds like a tedious debate to you, then you would likely not be the grammarian this country needs.

From Slate • Feb. 16, 2018

But it’s not true that if one kind of grammarian is right then the other kind of grammarian is wrong.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker