Definition of: artist

(är′tist) noun
1. One who is skilled in or who makes a profession of any of the fine arts.
2. Any professional public performer, as an actor, singer, etc.
3. One who does anything particularly well, as with a feeling for form, effect, etc. [<F artiste <Ital. artista <L ars art] Synonyms: artificer, artisan, mechanic, operative, workman. The work of the artist is creative; that of the artisan mechanical. The artificer is between the two, putting more thought, intelligence, and taste into his work than the artisan, but less of the idealizing, creative power than the artist. The man who constructs anything by mere routine and rule is a mechanic. The man whose work involves thought, skill, and constructive power is an artificer. Those who operate machinery which is nearly automatic are operators or operatives.