You searched for: “sciolists
sciolist (s) (noun), sciolists (pl)
1. A person who presents superficial or inadequate knowledge about something: "A sciolist usually proclaims himself or herself to be an expert regarding a subject, but who actually has very little real understanding or intellectual comprehension about the issue."
2. Etymology: from Late Latin sciolus which came from earlier Latin scius, "knowing"; from scio, "I know" and scire, "to know".

"If the language can be improved in regularity, so as to be more easily acquired by our own citizens and by foreigners, and thus be rendered a more useful instrument for the propagation of science, arts, civilization, and Christianity; if it can be rescued from the mischievous influence of sciolists, and that dabbling spirit of innovation, which is perpetually disturbing its settled usages and filling it with anomalies; if, in short, our vernacular language can be redeemed from corruptions, and our philology and literature from degradation; it would be a source of great satisfaction to me to be one among the instruments of promoting these valuable objectives."

— from the introduction to
An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, LL.D.;
Published by George and Charles Merriam; Springfield, Mass.; 1857.
This entry is located in the following unit: sci-, -science, -scientific, -scientifically, -scient, -sciently (page 6)