A scientist, in the broadest sense, refers to any person that engages in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and traditions that are linked to schools of thought or philosophy. In a more restricted sense, scientist refers to individuals who use the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word.
Historically, scientists were termed "natural philosophers" or "men of science"; they were men of knowledge. Science and philosophy were roughly synonymous. William Whewell coined the term scientist in 1833 to describe an expert in the study of nature, but this term did not gain wide acceptance until the turn of the 20th century. By the twentieth century, the modern notion of science as a special brand of information about the world, practiced by a distinct group and pursued through a unique method, was essentially in place.
