columnist
/ˈkɑ.ləm.nɪst/noun
columnist is spelled C-O-L-U-M-N-I-S-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, columnist means “A regular writer of a column, such as in a magazine or newspaper” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of columnist is columnists.
How many letters and syllables are in columnist?
| Letters | 9: C-O-L-U-M-N-I-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is columnist?
Columnist appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce columnist?
- UK /ˈkɒ.lə.mɪst/
- UK /ˈkɒ.ləm.nɪst/
- US /ˈkɑ.ləm.nɪst/
Columnist has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-columnist.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-columnist2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of columnist
- columnists plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does columnist mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A regular writer of a column, such as in a magazine or newspaper.
a sports columnist
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Columnist in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense regular writer of a column:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chroniqueur |
| German | Kolumnist, Kolumnistin |
| Portuguese | colunista |
| Spanish | columnista, articulista |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does columnist come from?
From column + -ist, from Latin and Greek, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).