Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
Someone with the trappings of science who is probably not a true scientist.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: humorous
Synonyms: pseudoscientist
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Synonym of scientist.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: scientist
Antonyms: none provided
History
The word has existed since the 19th century, when it began as a term for the concept that later would nearly universally be called scientist in English. But in the late 20th and early 21st century, the word has mostly been used as a joke implying suspect credentials or pseudoscience. The joke operates on the fact that scientist is the only current idiomatic term for a scientist and that scientician sounds like a word that a biased party (e.g., a corporate or government PR mouthpiece) would use while trying to mislead the audience while escaping liability because if it were questioned then they could lawyer their way out of liability technically by saying, "I never said scientist." This comic use of the word was popularized by a 1995 episode of The Simpsons called "Lisa the Vegetarian".
