The story
From physics + -ist. Coined by the English polymath William Whewell (1794–1866) in his book The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840): see the quotation.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
physicist
phy·sic·istToday it means: A person whose occupation specializes in the science of physics, especially at a professional level. Full definition →