non-specialistn.adj.
/nɒnˈspɛʃəlɪst/, /nɒnˈspɛʃl̩ɪst/, U.S. /nɑnˈspɛʃ(ə)ləst/ A. n.
A person who is not a specialist (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > intellectual command, mastery > [noun] > broad knowledge or view > student of
non-specialist1779
universarian1880
generalist1894
1779 in Suppl. Dr. Swift's Wks. III. Index 367 Doctors in Divinity, and Non-specialists, are to take place of squires not nobly descended.
1874 Appletons' Jrnl. 13 June 763/3 The features of such a study as is the subject of this volume, have something very impressive to the ‘non-specialist’.
1920 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 26 26 There is something further..which very much needs to be said to specialists and non-specialists alike.
1933 Discovery Sept. 286/2 He has just written a remarkable book, where the non-specialist will find much of interest.
1989 S. H. Schneider Global Warming (1990) p. x How can any nonspecialist deal with controversial scientific questions?
B. adj.
1. Of a person: not a specialist.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > of no special quality > not specialist or technical
miscellaneous1711
untechnicala1832
non-specialist1888
generalist1954
1888 Science 6 July 8/1 To the undergraduate, or even non-specialist post-graduate, almost its only service will be that of a work of reference.
1919 W. Lewis Caliph's Design iii. 53 I am..only giving so much general matter..as is necessary to remind a non-specialist public of the rough points of the position.
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Jan. 46/2 An editor whose speciality is to be non-specialist.
1998 Educ. Rev. 12 ii. 93/1 The teachers' manual is clearly laid out with detailed lesson plans. It would be of particular use to nonspecialist MFL teachers.
2. Aimed at or suited for non-specialists; not specialized.
ΚΠ
1971 Dict. National Biogr. 1951–60 622/1 The non-specialist teaching course..is the basis of the education there.
1993 Art Newspaper Jan. 14/2 Lavish, decidedly non-specialist book on the development of what might be termed ‘artist's wallpaper’.
2001 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 18 Nov. 11 A unique professional body providing non-specialist general business education to practising and aspiring managers and executives.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1779