cognitivist

the term 'cognitivist' is a modern formation built upon the adjective 'cognitive', which entered english in the 16th century from the latin cognitivus, meaning 'capable of knowing'. this latin root stems from cognoscere, a compound of co- (intensive) and gnoscere (to know), a verb with proto-indo-european origins in the root ǵneh₃-, meaning 'to know'. the suffix -ist, denoting an adherent of a doctrine, was borrowed via latin from greek. thus, a 'cognitivist' literally signifies 'one who adheres to theories concerning knowing', a meaning directly aligned with its modern application to proponents of psychological and philosophical theories centered on mental processes.

Structure: cognitiv (pertaining to knowing) + ist (one who practices or believes) cognitiv (from latin cognitivus, from cognit- 'known', from the verb cognoscere 'to get to know, recognize') + ist (from latin -ista, from greek -istēs, a suffix denoting an agent or adherent).