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-ist

 - 3 dictionary results

-ist

a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in -ize or nouns ending in -ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines, etc.: apologist; dramatist; machinist; novelist; realist; socialist; Thomist.
Compare -ism, -istic, -ize.


Origin:
ME -iste < L -ista < Gk -istēs; in some words, repr. F -iste, G -ist, It -ista, etc., ≪ L < Gk, as above
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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-ist  
suff.  
    1. One that performs a specified action: lobbyist.

    2. One that produces, makes, operates, plays, or is connected with a specified thing: novelist.

  1. A specialist in a specified art, science, or skill: biologist.

  2. An adherent or advocate of a specified doctrine, theory, or school of thought: anarchist.

  3. One that is characterized by a specified trait or quality: romanticist.


[Middle English -iste, from Old French, from Latin -istēs, -ista, from Greek -istēs, agent n. suff.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

-ist 
agent noun suffix, also used to indicate adherence to a certain doctrine or custom, from Fr. -iste, from L. -ista, from Gk. -istes, from agential suffix -tes. Variant -ister (e.g. chorister, barister) is from O.Fr. -istre, on false analogy of ministre. Variant -ista is from Sp. form, popularized in Eng. 1970s by names of Latin-American revolutionary movements.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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