Timeline for What are the differences between -ist, -ite, and -ian?
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| Apr 30, 2013 at 5:06 | comment | added | Jim | I don't think Chambers' distinction holds water anymore. I think you are right, the preferred ending depends aesthetically on the word being ended. A person from Alabama is an Alabaman, A person from Washington is a Washingtonian, a person from Michigan is a Michigander, a person from Rochester is a Rochesterian. But an -ist is not a "from-somewhere" ending it is "a-practicer-of" ending- a violinist, a nudist, a botanist etc. | |
| Apr 30, 2013 at 4:43 | comment | added | B. Szonye | I thought perhaps -ist might be etymologically related to -ist, but it isn't. The former comes from Greek -ιστής (istēs), the latter from -ισμός (-ismos), indirectly -ίζειν (-izein). Still, many -ist words come from -ism (Calvinism, sexism) even though many others behave differently (botanist, Judaism). | |
| Apr 30, 2013 at 3:03 | history | answered | mattacular | CC BY-SA 3.0 |