militarist
UK[ˈmɪl.ɪ.tər.ɪst]US[ˈmɪl.ə.t̬ɚ.ɪst]
n
a person who believes that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.
adj
relating to or characteristic of militarists or militarism.
Morpheme Breakdown
militar
ist
militar
soldier, army
ist
person who practices
Etymology
the word 'militarist' is a modern formation built upon the latin foundation for soldier, miles. this root, of uncertain ultimate origin, gave rise to militaris, the adjective for all things pertaining to soldiers and warfare. in the 19th century, as political ideologies surrounding military power crystallized, the suffix -ist was appended to the stem 'militar-' to create a term for an advocate of militarism. the logic is direct: a 'militarist' is literally "one concerned with the military," evolving from the concrete notion of a soldier to the abstract ideology prioritizing military strength and aggressive preparedness in state policy.
Analysis
Structure: militar (soldier, army) + ist (person who practices)
militar: from latin militaris, meaning "of soldiers or war," derived from miles (genitive militis) meaning "soldier." functions as the core root denoting military matters.
ist: from greek -istes, via latin -ista, a suffix forming agent nouns, meaning "a person who practices or is concerned with something." functions as a noun-forming suffix indicating a follower or advocate.
Examples
the general was a staunch militarist who advocated for a massive increase in defense spending.
his militarist policies led the nation into several prolonged and costly conflicts.
the historian analyzed the rise of militarist sentiment in the decades preceding the war.