rhapsodist

American  

[rap-suh-dist] / ˈræp sə dɪst /

noun

1. a person who rhapsodizes.

2. (in ancient Greece) a person who recited epic poetry, especially professionally.

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ˈrhapsodist British  

/ ˈræpsədɪst /

noun

1. a person who speaks or writes rhapsodies

2. a person who speaks with extravagant enthusiasm

3. Also: rhapsode.  (in ancient Greece) a professional reciter of poetry, esp of Homer

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Other Word Forms

• rhapsodistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of rhapsodist

1640–50; < Greek rhapsōid ( ós ) rhapsodist ( rhaps-, variant stem of rháptein to stitch, + -ōid ( ē ) ode + -os noun suffix) + -ist

Example Sentences

Can we doubt that rhapsodist sang of such from earliest tribal times.

From New York Times

Even there, it was multifaceted: a three-part program that showed Mr. Iyer as social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway.

From New York Times

So, for instance, there was the noise band Wolf Eyes, the cello improviser Okkyung Lee, the grindcore group Napalm Death, the rapper Gunplay, the post-minimal piano rhapsodist Lubomyr Melnyk, the free-jazz trio the Thing, and the electronic musician Tim Hecker, presented in overlapping sets, in three different parts of a 50,000-square-foot former door-frame factory.

From New York Times

It was necessary, of course, to divide the poem to be recited into parts, and to compel each contending rhapsodist to take the part assigned to him.

From Project Gutenberg

He adds that there was a famous rhapsodist, Cynaethus of Chios, who was said to be the author of the Hymn to Apollo, and to have first recited Homer at Syracuse about the 69th Olympiad.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• artist
• author
• dramatist
• lyricist
• writer