Pedant
WordNet
noun
(1) A person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , or , of uncertain origin.
Noun
- 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.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, vol. 1 ch. 24:
- A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.
- A person who emphasizes his/her knowledge through the use of vocabulary.