optometristn.
/ɒpˈtɒmᵻtrɪst/, U.S. /ɑpˈtɑmətrəst/ Ophthalmology. Originally U.S.
A person who practises optometry; an ophthalmic optician.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > ophthalmology or optometry > [noun] > practitioner of
optician1892
optometrist1903
1903 Optical Jrnl. Oct. 558/2 The word ‘optometrist’..coined by Mr. Eberhardt [sc. President of the American Association of Opticians], is a popular one, and likely to be adopted by the American Association at its Milwaukee Convention in 1904.
1945 Amer. Jrnl. Ophthalmol. 28 669/1 It seems obvious that optometrists will continue to perform a large percentage of the refractions in America.
1957 A. Huxley Let. 12 Jan. (1969) 815 What is happening in the US is that optometrists—a breed superior to opticians..are steadily adopting..Batesian procedures.
1971 ‘D. Shannon’ Murder with Love (1972) v. 79 Nearly every tenant..was a professional of some kind: doctors, dentists, optometrists.
2002 Daily Tel. 21 Nov. 6/5 To prevent elongation of the eyeball in children, some optometrists began to undercorrect short-sightedness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1903