ethicistn.
/ˈɛθᵻsɪst/, U.S. /ˈɛθəsəst/ 1. A writer on or student of ethics; a person who considers moral principles.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > one who studies or is versed in
moral philosopher1499
moralista1586
moral1615
ethician1629
ethicist1838
1838 H. B. Wallace Stanley II. i. 23 No such objection lies to Greek and Roman ethicists.
1891 Monist 1 556 A scientific ethicist has to proceed like any other naturalist.
1925 Internat. Jrnl. Ethics 36 6 Mandeville..is one of the very few ethicists who have ever manifested any interest in the rights and sufferings of the lower animals.
1970 V. J. Rinella in R. A. Chikota & M. C. Moran Riot in Cities 305 It is foolish to allocate to the policeman the role of ethicist and decision-maker and expect anything less than disaster.
2003 U.S. News & World Rep. 28 Apr. 54/1 Vaccines against cocaine and nicotine have just entered clinical trials, and ethicists wonder what will happen if they work.
2. An advocate of the view that religion is irrelevant or inimical to morality and the principles of ethics. Now historical.
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1886 J. May in J. F. Clarke et al. Mod. Unitarianism 204 That it [sc. a real knowledge of God] is valid knowledge, the Church stands to bear witness..as against..the ethicist, who says that it is not important whether man knows Him or not.
1908 Lit. Guide 1 Aug. 121/1 A Rationalist or an Ethicist can seldom get credit for what he does, however good his intentions.
1997 N. Walter Humanism 42 During the 18th and 19th centuries, they..called themselves Freethinkers, Zetetics, Cosmists.., Secularists, Agnostics, Ethicists or Ethicalists, Rationalists, Monists.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1838