Where does “existentialist” come from?

Existentialist derives from French existentialiste, formed with the French suffix -iste from Latin -ista, from Ancient Greek -ιστής derived from the verb -ίζω, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -idyéti meaning to do or perform.

existentialist (English): A person who adheres to the philosophy of...

Definitions

  1. A person who adheres to the philosophy of...

Ancestry of “existentialist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchexistentialisteexistentialist
2French-iste-ist; -istic
3Latin-ista-ist; one who practises or believes
4Ancient Greek-ιστήςAlternative form of -τής; -ist
5Ancient Greek-τήςAppended to verbs to form agent nouns
6Proto-Hellenic-tās
Every word from Proto-Hellenic -tās