Where does “distractionist” come from?

distractionist (English) comes from English distraction, from Middle French distraction, from Latin distractio, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus, from Latin disserere, from Latin dis- — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

distractionist (English): Tending to divert attention from one thing to...

Definitions

  1. Tending to divert attention from one thing to...

Ancestry of “distractionist”, step by step

distractionist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English distraction

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdistractionSomething that distracts; The process of being...
2Middle Frenchdistraction
3LatindistractioA dragging apart; a pulling away; an act of...
4Latin-tiōtion, -ation, -ing
5Latindissertātiō(spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition
6Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
7Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
8Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
9Latincalceusshoe
10Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
11Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

via English ist

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishistA practitioner or supporter of an ism
2English-istAdded to words to form nouns denoting
3Old French-iste
4Latin-ista-ist; one who practises or believes
5Ancient Greek-ιστήςAlternative form of -τής; -ist
6Ancient Greek-τήςAppended to verbs to form agent nouns
7Proto-Hellenic-tās
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξEvery word from Latin -tiōEvery word from Latin dis-
distractionist — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer