the word is a modern english blend, coined in the mid-20th century by analogy with 'alcoholic'. the first element, 'work', retains its ancient germanic meaning of labor or effort, traceable to proto-indo-european werg- meaning 'to do'. the suffix '-holic' was abstracted from 'alcoholic', itself derived from the scientific term 'alcohol' combined with the greek-derived adjectival suffix '-ic'. the formation logic is transparent and humorous, applying the concept of addiction to the domain of labor, thus creating a term for someone compulsively devoted to work.

Structure: work (activity involving effort) + a + holic (one addicted to) - work: from old english 'weorc', meaning 'something done, action, proceeding, business'. functions as the core noun root. - a: a connective vowel, often used in word formation to join elements. - holic: a modern english suffix extracted from the word 'alcoholic', meaning 'a person addicted to or compulsively dependent on something'.