The word 'symbolist' is a modern formation built upon the ancient Greek concept of a symbolon. A symbolon was originally a physical object, such as a broken piece of a tablet, carried as a token of identity or a pledge; its meaning evolved to encompass any sign or object that represents an abstract idea. The agent suffix -ist, of Greek origin, was attached in the 19th century to designate an individual, particularly an artist or writer, whose work is defined by the use of such symbolic representations. Thus, the term logically describes a practitioner whose core method involves using concrete images as tokens for deeper, often subjective, truths, culminating in its specific application to the late-19th-century artistic and literary movement known as Symbolism.

Structure: symbol + ist - symbol: From Greek symbolon (token, pledge, sign). Functions as the core root denoting a sign representing something else. - ist: From Greek -istēs (agent suffix), via Latin -ista. Functions as a noun-forming suffix meaning "a person who practices or is concerned with something."