The Science Council defines science as “the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.” And Nasa’s Space Place simplifies it to “curiosity in thoughtful action about the world and how it behaves.”
While scientists have been around for ages, the actual word "scientist" was only "invented" in 1833, by a British chap called William Whewell. Before then, there were philosophers and cultivators of science. It took Whewell a few tries before he settled on the word scientist.
"The first he considered was savant, or men of learning. But he dismissed that for both being presumptuous and French. He also considered the German term naturforscher, which is really naturalist. But he worried that some might make fun of that term, calling it nature-poker or nature-peeper," said Howard Markel, professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, during an interview with NPR.
