Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ist” come from?

The suffix -ist comes from Latin -ista, from Ancient Greek -ιστής, derived from the verb -ίζω, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -idyé-.

ist (English): A practitioner or supporter of an ism

Definitions

  1. A practitioner or supporter of an ism

Ancestry of “ist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-istAdded to words to form nouns denoting
2Old French-iste—
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 →