rhapsodist

[rap-suh-dist]

noun

1. a person who rhapsodizes.

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

ˈrhapsodist

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• rhapsodistic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ˈrhapsodist¹

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.

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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.

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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.

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Cranky Kaplan maybe the only scrotal rhapsodist with the mental reservoir of a cultural critic.

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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.

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Related Words

• artist 
• author 
• dramatist 
• lyricist 
• writer