accompanist

(ə-kŭm'pə-nĭst, ə-kŭmp'nĭst)
n.
A performer who plays or sings a musical accompaniment.

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is now the standard form of the word for 'a person who plays a musical accompaniment'. The by-form accompanyist, used by Dickens, is now occasionally encountered in American English. Some classical musicians dislike the term (preferring pianist) when applied to the piano part in chamber music for two instruments or for piano and voice (and indeed some composers gave priority to the piano in the titles of their pieces, e.g. 'sonata for piano and violin').

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For a list of words related to accompanist, see:

• Musicians and Performance - accompanist: single instrumentalist, usu. pianist, who plays for dancer or singer

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See words rhyming with "accompanist."