Origin and history of flutist

1827, from Italian flautista, from flauto "flute" (from Late Latin flauta; see flute (n.)) + Greek-derived suffix -ista.

early 14c., floute, "(musical) flute, shepherd's pipe," from Old French flaut, flahute, fleute (12c.), from Old Provençal flaut, which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps imitative or from Latin flare "to blow" (according to Watkins, from PIE root *bhle- "to blow"); perhaps influenced by Provençal laut "lute." Other Germanic words (such as German flöte) likewise are borrowings from French.

Ancient flutes were direct, blown straight through a mouthpiece but held away from the player's mouth; the modern transverse or German flute developed 18c. The older style then sometimes were called flûte-a-bec (French, literally "flute with a beak"). The modern design and key system of the concert flute were perfected 1834 by Theobald Boehm.

The architectural sense of "furrow in a pillar" (1650s) is from fancied resemblance to the inside of a flute split down the middle. The meaning "tall, slender wine glass" is by 1640s.

word-forming element meaning "one who does or makes," also used to indicate adherence to a certain doctrine or custom, from French -iste and directly from Latin -ista (source also of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian -ista), from Greek agent-noun ending -istes, which is from -is-, ending of the stem of verbs in -izein, + agential suffix -tes.

Variant -ister (as in chorister, barrister) is from Old French -istre, on false analogy of ministre. Variant -ista is from Spanish, popularized in American English 1970s by names of Latin-American revolutionary movements.