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musician

[myoo-zish-uh n]
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noun
  1. a person who makes music a profession, especially as a performer of music.
  2. any person, whether professional or not, skilled in music.
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Origin of musician

1350–1400; Middle English musicien < Middle French. See music, -ian
Related formsmu·si·cian·ly, adjectiveun·mu·si·cian·ly, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

conductorartistvirtuosoplayercomposerentertainerperformersoloistinstrumentalistvocalistartistediva

Examples from the Web for musician

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It was easy to see that she was not a musician; but, as she forgot her listeners, we forgot everything but her.

  • What wonder if to her the music and the musician became one?

    The Village Watch-Tower

    (AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin

  • I am a musician—I play the violin on a boat till I strike—so now I will get you the music.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

  • "He's something of a musician, too, now that I remember," added the young lady.

    The Mystery of Murray Davenport

    Robert Neilson Stephens

  • Or was he a musician—what Anna Sartorius called ein Musiker?

    The First Violin

    Jessie Fothergill

British Dictionary definitions for musician

musician

noun
  1. a person who plays or composes music, esp as a profession
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Derived Formsmusicianly, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for musician

n.

late 14c., "one skilled in music," from Old French musicien (14c.), or a native formation from music + -ian. Sense of "professional musical performer" first recorded mid-15c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper