Where does “essayist” come from?
Essayist comes from English essay plus the suffix -ista from Latin, -ιστής from Ancient Greek meaning "one who does," derived from -ίζω in Ancient Greek meaning "to do or practice."
essayist (English): One who composes essays; a writer of short...
Definitions
- One who composes essays; a writer of short...
Ancestry of “essayist”, step by step
essayist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English essay
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | essay | A written composition of moderate length,... |
| 2 | Middle French | essai | essay; attempt, assay; essay |
| 3 | Old French | essai | trial |
| 4 | Late Latin | exagium | weight; weighing, testing on the balance;... |
| 5 | Latin | exigō | to drive out; expel |
| 6 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |