buddhist

The word 'Buddhist' is a modern English formation, coined in the early 19th century to describe followers of Buddhism. It combines the name 'Buddha', derived from the Sanskrit past participle 'buddha' meaning 'awakened' or 'enlightened', with the Greek-derived agent suffix '-ist', which denotes a person who practices or is concerned with something. The term 'Buddha' itself originates from the Sanskrit root 'budh-', meaning 'to wake, to know', which traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root bheudh-, meaning 'to be aware, to perceive'. Thus, a Buddhist is literally 'one concerned with the awakened one', a follower of the path to enlightenment as taught by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

Structure: buddh (Buddha) + ist (one who believes in or practices) - buddh: From Sanskrit 'buddha', meaning 'awakened, enlightened'. It is a proper noun referring to the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama. - ist: A suffix of Greek origin (via Latin '-ista'), used to form agent nouns denoting an adherent of a particular doctrine, system, or practice.