pessimistic

the word 'pessimistic' is built upon the latin superlative adjective 'pessimus', meaning 'worst'. this root was combined with the agent suffix '-ist', borrowed via latin from greek, to form 'pessimist', denoting a person who believes the worst will happen. the adjectival suffix '-ic', also of ancient greek origin via latin, was then added to create the modern adjective. the term's philosophical sense emerged in the 18th century as an antonym to 'optimistic', systematically contrasting a belief in the predominance of evil with a belief in the ultimate triumph of good.

Structure: pessim (worst) + ist (person who believes) + ic (adjective suffix) pessim (from latin 'pessimus', meaning 'worst'), ist (from greek '-istes', latin '-ista', a suffix denoting a person who practices or is concerned with something), ic (from latin '-icus', greek '-ikos', a suffix forming adjectives meaning 'of, pertaining to').