controvertist

English

Etymology

From controvert +‎ -ist.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkɒntɹəˈvɜː(ɹ)tɪst/

Noun

controvertist (plural controvertists)

1. One skilled in or given to controversy; a controversialist.
   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 301:

     […] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]

   • 1789, George Campbell, The Four Gospels, Translated from the Greek:

     How unfriendly is the controvertist to the discernment of the critic!

References

• “controvertist, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “controvertist”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “controvertist”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.