humanist

the term 'humanist' has its foundations in the latin word humanitas, which encapsulated the refined intellectual and cultural education befitting a civilized person. this concept was revived during the renaissance, a period of renewed interest in classical greek and roman literature, philosophy, and art. scholars who pursued these secular studies of the litterae humaniores (the more human letters) were thus distinguished by the suffix '-ist', indicating their devotion to human-centered learning. consequently, the word evolved from denoting a classical scholar to broadly signify a proponent of a philosophy centered on human values, agency, and dignity.

Structure: human (human being) + ist (one who practices or believes) - human: from latin humanus (of or belonging to man, humane, cultivated), functional role: root, carrying the core semantic concept of 'human'. - ist: from greek -istēs (agent suffix), via latin -ista and old french -iste, functional role: suffix denoting an adherent to a practice, system, or philosophy.