pollster

The word 'pollster' is a modern American English coinage from the mid-20th century. Its first element, 'poll', originally meant 'head' or 'top of the head' in Middle English, a meaning derived from Middle Dutch. By the 17th century, 'poll' evolved to signify the counting of heads, and subsequently, the recording of votes or opinions. The second element, '-ster', is an Old English agent suffix, historically often (but not exclusively) feminine, which survives in words like 'spinster' and 'songster'. Combined, the term literally means 'a person who counts heads/opinions', directly and logically describing the core function of someone who conducts public opinion surveys.

Structure: poll (sense) + ster (sense) - poll (Middle English, from Middle Dutch 'pol' meaning 'head' or 'top of the head'; functional role: root, referring to the counting of heads/people) - ster (Old English '-estre', a feminine agent suffix; later generalized; functional role: agent noun suffix, meaning 'a person who does or is associated with')