scientician en · NOUN
Etymology
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".
Meanings
-
(humorous) Someone with the trappings of science who is probably not a true scientist.
Near-synonym: pseudoscientist
Smarmy Marlboro Man–like spokesman: Just ask this scientician. [Cut away to a man in a lab coat, in front of a microscope, who opens his mouth as he is about to begin speaking. Then cut away again.] Smarmy Marlboro Man–like spokesman: He'll tell you that […]
1995, David X. Cohen, “Lisa the Vegetarian”, in The Simpsons, season 7, episode 5:
- (archaic) Synonym of scientist.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| scienticians | Number=Plur | lexicographic |