cultist

The word 'cultist' is a modern formation built upon the older noun 'cult', which entered English in the early 17th century. 'Cult' itself originates from the Latin cultus, a noun meaning "worship" or "cultivation," derived from the verb colere (to till, tend, dwell in, worship). This verb is rooted in the Proto-Indo-European base kʷel-, meaning "to revolve, move around, sojourn," which also gave rise to words like 'wheel' and 'colony,' reflecting concepts of cyclical movement and settled habitation. The suffix '-ist,' denoting an adherent, was appended to 'cult' in the 19th century to specifically label a person devoted to a particular system of religious worship or, by later extension, to any faddish or zealous pursuit. Thus, the literal "person associated with worship" evolved to describe both followers of unorthodox religions and fervent devotees of secular ideologies or celebrities.

Structure: cult (system of worship) + ist (person who practices) - cult: From Latin cultus (worship, adoration, cultivation), from the verb colere (to till, cultivate, worship). In this word, it functions as the base noun meaning a system of religious veneration or devotion. - ist: A suffix of Greek origin (via Latin -ista, Greek -istēs), denoting a person who practices or is concerned with something. It functions as an agent noun suffix.