A person who specializes in or advocates for fruit; an expert in fruit cultivation, study, or consumption.
From 'fruit' plus '-ist' (one who practices or advocates), similar to how 'botanist' or 'florist' is formed. This is a rare coinage, likely from 19th-century horticultural circles.
While 'fruitist' is obscure today, 19th-century gardening magazines used it proudly to describe passionate fruit experts. The word disappeared not because it's wrong, but because 'horticulturist' and 'pomologist' filled the niche better—language chooses its winners.
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