from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Scientist \Sci"en*tist\, n.
One learned in science; a scientific investigator; one
devoted to scientific study; a savant. [Recent]
[1913 Webster]
Note: Twenty years ago I ventured to propose one [a name for
the class of men who give their lives to scientific
study] which has been slowly finding its way to general
adoption; and the word scientist, though scarcely
euphonious, has gradually assumed its place in our
vocabulary. --B. A. Gould (Address, 1869).
[1913 Webster] Sci-Fi