anti-feminist
UK[ˌænti ˈfemənɪst]US[ˌænti ˈfemənɪst, ˌæntaɪ-]
n
A person who is opposed to feminism or to the advocacy of women's rights.
adj
Opposed to feminism or to the advocacy of women's rights.
Morpheme Breakdown
anti
femin
ist
anti
against
femin
woman
ist
person who advocates
Etymology
The term 'anti-feminist' is a modern English compound built from classical components. The prefix 'anti-' originates from Greek, carrying its core meaning of opposition. The core element 'femin-' is derived from the Latin femina, meaning "woman", which itself has a debated Proto-Indo-European origin, possibly related to roots for "suck" or "nurse". The suffix '-ist', also of Greek origin, denotes an adherent to a doctrine or practice. Therefore, the word's construction follows a clear, logical path: literally "a person (ist) who is against (anti-) the cause of women (femin-)," directly mapping to its contemporary meaning of opposing feminist principles.
Analysis
Structure: anti (against) + femin (woman) + ist (person who advocates)
- anti: From Greek anti-, meaning "against, opposite".
- femin: From Latin femin-, the stem of femina, meaning "woman".
- ist: From Greek -istēs, a suffix forming agent nouns, meaning "a person who practices or is concerned with something".
Examples
The article was criticized for promoting anti-feminist views.
She was labeled an anti-feminist for her opposition to the proposed legislation.
The movement attracted both feminists and anti-feminists to the debate.