Meanings
nounshootist (plural shootists)
plural shootists
- USarchaicA person who is an expert user of firearms, especially a sharpshooter or a gunslinger in the Old West.
Not being a "shootist," I cannot lay the bird before you.
1895, O. Widmann, “An Hour with Baird's and Leconte's Sparrows near St. Louis, Missouri”, in The Auk, volume 12, number 3, page 941 more example
Such terminations in -ist were very common at one time; my collection includes swimmist, sparrist, ballist, walkist, shootist, saloonist, and several others.
1947, Charles J. Lovell, “The Background of Mark Twain's Vocabulary”, in American Speech, volume 22, number 2, page 94
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)kewd-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)kéwdeti?
- Proto-Germanic*skuttōnąbf.?
- Proto-Germanic*skeutaną
- Proto-West Germanic*skeutan
- Old Englishsċēotan
- Middle Englishschoten
- Englishshoot
- Englishshootist
Cite this entry
APA
shootist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shootist
MLA
“shootist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shootist. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shootist,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shootist.
Source: shootist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.