wordsmithn.
/ˈwəːdsmɪθ/, U.S. /ˈwərdˌsmɪθ/ A skilled user or maker of words.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [noun] > fitting word > one having
wordman1610
wordsman1849
wordsmith1873
1873 Contemp. Rev. Jan. 333/2 One can see that their poems and songs..were actually fabricated for them out of their language by word-smiths.
1896 Literary World 19 June 571/2 Stevenson, the soaring child of genius and the plodding word-smith.
1918 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 8 Mar. 8/4 If you would be a wordsmith, and aspire to excellence, give your days and nights to Henry James.
1961 Observer 23 July 19/3 Gunther has lost none of his old skill as a wordsmith: the adjectives come pouring out in a torrent of enthusiasm, bristling with brackets, dashes, afterthoughts, and statistics.
1986 F. G. Rodgers & R. L. Shook IBM Way viii. 163 Wordsmiths and media specialists zap him with messages that make products irresistible.
2006 Daily Tel. 20 Mar. 19/3 Among Mr Blair's innumerable talents, he has now emerged as a wordsmith, having given rise to the word ‘loanation’—a loan that doesn't have to be repaid.
Derivatives
ˈwordsmithery n.
Π
1952 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune (Electronic text) 12 Sept. The cognoscenti seem to be leaning to the wordsmithery and jokes of the governor of Illinois.
1994 Guardian 22 Nov. ii. 10/1 Short stories by a poet, thankfully free of wordsmithery.
2007 Time Out N.Y. 11 Jan. 81/1 Amis's wordsmithery—is as impressive as ever.
ˈwordsmithing n.
Π
1920 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 12 June 6/1 The second section of the prohibition amendment is not an excellent bit of wordsmithing.
2006 Daily Tel. 13 Jan. 23/3 Will any wordsmithing and posturing by Tony Blair replace what we have lost—respect?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1873