racist

The word "racist" is a modern formation, built upon the earlier noun "race" which entered English in the 16th century from French "race", itself from Italian "razza". The precise origin of "razza" is obscure but may relate to notions of lineage or generation. The highly productive agent-noun suffix "-ist", borrowed via Latin from Greek, was appended to "race" in the early 20th century. This construction follows a common English pattern (e.g., "artist", "cyclist") to create a term for a person who advocates for or adheres to a particular doctrine—in this case, the doctrine of racial superiority or prejudice. Thus, the literal morphemic logic is transparent: "racist" means "one who practices or believes in (a doctrine centered on) race."

Structure: rac(e) (race) + ist (one who practices) - rac(e): A direct substring of the modern English word "race". Its origin is the Italian "razza" (meaning "race, breed, lineage"), of uncertain earlier origin. In this word, it functions as the core noun base referring to a major group of people. - ist: A direct substring from the English spelling. It originates from the Latin suffix "-ista" and Greek "-istes", denoting an agent noun (a person who practices or is concerned with something). It functions as a suffix forming a noun meaning "a follower or practitioner".