pedant
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- a person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they meritSynonyms: bookwormscholastic
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Pedant \Ped"ant\, n. [F. p['e]dant, It. pedante, fr. Gr. paidey`ein to instruct, from pai^s boy. See Pedagogue.]
1.A schoolmaster; a pedagogue. [Obs.] --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
A pedant that keeps a school i'th' church.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
2.One who puts on an air of learning; one who makes a vain display of learning; a pretender to superior knowledge. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
A scholar, yet surely no pedant, was he. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster] Pedantic