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    -ist
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    -ist ( /ɪst/) is a stress-bearing non-native productive cohering suffix found in nouns of common gender denoting male persons, based on words and bound forms of foreign origin.

    On semantic grounds, two groups of nouns in -ist can be distinguished: jobs or function names, e.g. journalist journalist and telefonist telephone operator, and follower of a certain conviction or movement, e.g. boeddhist Buddhist and stalinist stalinist. For the second type of -ist derivations, there usually is a corresponding noun in -ism denoting ideology, movement, etc., e.g. boeddhisme Buddhism, stalinisme stalinism.

    On formal grounds, three types of derivations can be distinguished, viz. those on nominal bases (e.g. journalist, cf. journaal), those with a bound form as basis (e.g. componist composer, cf. componeren to compose), and those on adjectival bases (e.g. modernist modernist).

    There is also an unproductive variant -ast, as in cineast cinematographer (a loan) and gymnasiast high school student (< gymnasium). Various forms in -ist (and in -ast) are loans.

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    -ist ( /ɪst/) is an international productive suffix found in nouns denoting male persons (also in gender-neutral usage), ultimately going back to Greek (etymologiebank, affixes.org). Bases are both words and bound forms, usually of foreign origin.

    On semantic grounds, De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 224) distinguish two groups of nouns in -ist: jobs or function names, e.g. journalist journalist and telefonist telephonist, and follower of a certain conviction or movement, e.g. boeddhist Buddhist and stalinist stalinist. For the second type of -ist derivations, there usually is a corresponding noun in -isme denoting ideology, movement, etc., e.g. boeddhisme Buddhism, stalinisme stalinism.

    On formal grounds, on the other hand, (De Haas and Trommelen 1993) distinguish three types of derivations in -ist, viz. those on nominal bases, those with a bound form as basis, and those on adjectival bases. More on these subtypes below.

    extra

    Verbal bases do not occur, with one possible exception mentioned by De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 224), viz. typist typist, which may very well be a loan from English (Etymologiebank).

    • denominal -ist derivations take as their base simplex or complex nouns, usually belonging to the non-native lexical stock. Cases in point are job or function names like journalist journalist (cf. journaal journal), lokettist clerk (cf. loket counter), parachutist parachutist (cf. parachute parachute), bloemist florist (cf. bloem flower), cartoonist cartoonist (< cartoon), as well as nouns denoting followers of a certain conviction or movement such as symbolist symbolist (< symbool symbol) and fetisjist fetishist (< fetisj fetish). Proper names, especially foreign ones, are popular as bases as well, and then the semantics is typically follower of a certain conviction or movement, e.g. stalinist stalinist (< Stalin), leninist leninist (< Lenin), boeddhist Buddhist (< Boeddha), poujadist Poujadist (< Poujade), Carlist Carlist (< Carlos), calvinist Calvinist (< Calvijn). The suffix is very productive in the area of musicians' jobs names: violist violinist (cf. viool violin), pianist piano player (cf. piano piano), saxofonist saxophone player (cf. saxofoon saxophone), tenorist tenor (saxophone) player, vocalist vocalist, tubaist tuba player, harpist harp player, klavecinist harpsichord player (cf. klavecimbel harpsichord and Fr. clavecinharpsichord).
      extra

      Nouns like fluitist flutist and (recent) toetsenist keyboard player are noteworthy in having bases (fluit flute and toets key) that are not recognisably non-native. Ultimately, however, they derive from French, cf. Etymologiebank here and here. hoornist horn player may be based on a genuine native stem hoorn horn (Etymologiebank), but given that comparable forms are found in the neighboring languages, borrowing cannot be excluded as a possibility; paukenist timpanist is noteworthy because of the link morpheme -en that may be explainable from the fact that pauken timpani is almost always used in plural, that is, it is almost a plurale tantum; the same link morpheme -en is found in the aforementioned toetsenist keyboard player, possible with the same type of explanation.

      Native bases as in bloemist florist (< bloem flower) are even rarer than they are in English (cf. Bauer et al. (2013: 223) who list forms like duckist, fattist, keyboardist, landscapist, womanist whose Dutch counterparts are all ungrammatical).

    • A number of -ist formations has a bound form (root) as basis, that is, the base does not occur independently, although it is found in other derived words (cf. non-native derivation), e.g. componist composer (cf. componeren to compose), jurist legal expert (cf. juridisch legal), drogist druggist (< Fr. droguisteseller of medicine and herbs < Du. droog dry, see Etymologiebank), nudist nudist (cf. nudisme nudism).
      extra

      De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 225) suggest we find affix allomorphy in cases like comparatist comparatist (-atist) and congreganist congreganist (-anist), where -atist in turn may be built from -ist and a suffix -at that can never function as a closing suffix (cf. discussion on -ateur in -eur). An analysis in terms of stem allomorphy, finding its roots in intricacies of Romance morphology, therefore seems at least as viable. A comparable explanation is available for forms such as Platonist Platonist < Plato: in classical Greek, this name ended in /n/.

    • A smaller number of -ist formations has a (non-native) adjective as base, e.g. modernist modernist, specialist specialist, activist activist. If the base adjectives are formed with the (foreign) suffixes -eel or -air, these change into -aal and -aar, respectively, just as in the case of suffixes like -iteit and -isme.
      Table 1
      adjective -ist formation -isme formation -iteit formation
      rationeel rational rationalist rationalist rationalisme rationalism rationaliteit rationality
      functioneel functional functionalist functionalist functionalisme functionalism functionaliteit functionality
      militair military militarist militarist militarisme militarisme militariteit militarity
      These are instances of learned vowel backing (Dell and Selkirk 1978, Booij 1995: 77, cf. suffix allomorphy).

    The suffix -ist is stress-bearing: stress is on the suffix: modernist modern-ist /mo.dɛr.'nɪst/ (< modern /mo.'dɛrn/), dadaist /da.da.'ɪst/ dadaist (< Da'da). As the phonological representation shows, the suffix is cohering: syllabification does not respect the morphological structure.

    If the base ends in schwa, this is deleted (per the rule of prevocalic schwa deletion), as in methodist methodist (cf. methode method). In stems ending in /-i/, there is usually vowel deletion (marconist wireless operator, cf. Marconi, alchemist alchemist, cf. alchemie alchemy, anarchist anarchist, cf. anar'chie anarchy, kolonist settler, cf. ko'lonie colony). If the base word ends in another full vowel, it is unpredictable whether or not it is deleted (De Haas and Trommelen 1993: 225), cf.:

    Table 2
    no vowel deletion vowel deletion
    dadaist dadaist < Dada Dada boeddhist Buddhist < Boeddha Buddha
    prozaist prose writer < proza prose spinozist spinozist < Spinoza Spinoza
    egoist egoist < (Lat.) ego I cellist cello player < (violin)cello violincello
    hoboist oboist < hobo oboe solist soloist < solo solo
    kopiist copyist < kopie copy bigamist bigamist < bigamie bigamy

    In several cases where the base is itself derived bij means of the unstressed suffix -ie there is stem allomorphy, e.g. illusionist illusionist (cf. illusie illusion) and perfectionist perfectionist (cf. perfectie perfection). Stem allomorphy also occurs in stems ending in Greek -ma (dogmatist dogmatist, cf. dogma dogma), and in cases like stalinist /sta.li.'nɪst/ stalinist (< Stalin /'sta.lɪn/ Stalin), calvinist /kɑl.vi.'nɪst/ Calvinist (< Calvijn /kɑl.'vɛɪn/ Calvin) and afgodist /ɑf.γo.'dɪst/ idolator (< afgod /'ɑf.γɔt/ idol, demigod).

    extra

    De Haas and Trommelen (1993: 225) analyze -onist in derivations such as illusionist illusionist (cf. illusie illusion) and perfectionist (cf. perfectie perfection) as cases of affix allomorphy rather than stem allomorphy. The fact, however, that the part -on occurs in other types of derivation as well (e.g. perfectioneren to (make) perfect) may be taken as an argument in favor of an analysis in terms of stem allomorphy.

    Bauer et al. (2013: 223) note that "[o]f all the agentive suffixes, -ist has the greatest propensity to appear on already derived bases'', quoting examples such as adoptionist (< adoption, -ist combining with a derivation in -on), marriagist (< marriage), movementist (< movement, -ist combining with a derivation in -ment), etc. This does not seem to hold for Dutch to the same extent, but note cases such as receptionist (< receptie ), afrikanist (< Afrikaan). and objectivist < objectief.

    The jocular arbeiderist proletarianist (< arbeider worker) is the only case of the suffix -ist after the suffix -er. Note that the attested infanterist < infanterie and cavalerist < cavelerie are irrelevant, as is pokerist someone who plays poker.

    -ist formations have a plural form in -en (journalisten journalists, telefonisten telephone operators, boeddhisten Buddhists, stalinisten stalinists, componisten composers, modernisten modernists). Female counterparts are formed with the suffix -e, e.g. journaliste female journalist, telefoniste female telephone operator, boeddhiste female Buddhist, staliniste female stalinist, componiste female composer, moderniste female modernist. Diminutives are regularly formed with the suffix allomorph -je (journalistje telefonistje boeddhistje stalinistje) and typically get a depreciatory interpretation. -ist formations can also enter into nominal compounding, both as left-hand parts (terroristenleider terrorist leader, cursistenbegeleidster students companion, toeristenwinkels tourist shops) (note the linking morpheme-en) and as right-hand head parts (fietsenspecialist bicycle specialist, sportjournalist sports journalist)

    There is a paradigmatic relation of -ist with the nominal suffix isme (English ism) and the verbal suffix -iseer (English -ize), "suggesting a pocket of [...] derivatives with a paradigmatic flavour", just as in English (Bauer et al. 2013:22).

    extra

    [This] type of paradigmatic relationship, a correlation between two sets of words of the same degree of morphological complexity, can also be observed in cases where there is no base word that is shared by the word pairs. Consider the following word pairs in -isme and -ist:

    Table 3
    altru-isme altruism altru-ist altruist
    aut-isme autism aut-ist autist
    bapt-isme baptism bapt-ist baptist
    commun-isme communism commun-ist communist
    pacif-isme pacifism pacif-ist pacifist
    Even though they have no corresponding base word, the meaning of one member of a pair can be defined in terms of that of the other member. In particular, the meaning of the word in -ist can often be paraphrased as person with the ability, disposition, or ideology denoted by the word in -ism.

    The paradigmatic relationship between these two schemas may lead to the coining of new words. For instance, if we know what determinisme is, we can easily coin the word determinist, and then we know that this word denotes a person believing in determinism. The same holds for nouns in -ist with a lexeme as their base, such as Marxist and socialist. A Marxist is an adherent of Marxism and not necessarily a follower of Marx, since Marxism as a doctrine encompasses more than the ideas of Marx (in fact, Marx himself declared that he was not a Marxist. Similarly, a socialist is not necessarily a social person but an adherent of the ideology of socialism.

    References
    • Bauer, Laurie, Lieber, Rochelle & Plag, Ingo2013The Oxford Reference Guide to English MorphologyOxford University Press
    • Bauer, Laurie, Lieber, Rochelle & Plag, Ingo2013The Oxford Reference Guide to English MorphologyOxford University Press
    • Bauer, Laurie, Lieber, Rochelle & Plag, Ingo2013The Oxford Reference Guide to English MorphologyOxford University Press
    • Booij, Geert1995The phonology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
    • Dell, François & Selkirk, Elisabeth1978On a morphologically governed vowel alternation in FrenchRecent transformational studies in European languagesCambridge Mass.MITPress1-52
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    • Haas, Wim de & Trommelen, Mieke1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
    About this article
    Author(s): Ton van der Wouden
    Category: Dutch Morphology
    Keywords: derivationnounnon-native
    Version: 1.0, December 2015
    Version history:
    version editor(s) date remarks
    1.0 Ton van der Wouden December 2015
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