pedant

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Middle French pedant, pedante ( > modern pédant), or Italian pedanto, of uncertain origin.

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: pĕdʹənt, IPA: /ˈpɛdənt/, SAMPA: /"pEd@nt/

[edit] Noun

pedant (plural pedants)

1. (obsolete) A teacher or schoolmaster.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, vol. 1 ch. 24:

     I have in my youth oftentimes beene vexed to see a Pedant [tr. pedante] brought in, in most of Italian comedies, for a vice or sport-maker, and the nicke-name of Magister to be of no better signification amongst us.

2. A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
3. A person who emphasizes his/her knowledge through the use of vocabulary.

[edit] Related terms

• pedantic
• pedantry

[edit] Usage notes

• Do not confuse pedant with pendant or pennant.

[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

• Pedant on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• pedant in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.