A person who is an expert in or devotee of antiques; someone deeply learned in the study of ancient things or antiquities.
From antique plus -ist (one who practices or is devoted to). Similar formation to antiquary but suggests more systematic, expert knowledge rather than passionate collecting.
The -ist ending suggests EXPERTISE and ideology—an antiquist isn't just someone who likes old things, they're someone who has made understanding antiquities into their entire intellectual system, almost a philosophy of the past.
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