Dictionary
-ist
a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in
-ize or nouns ending in
-ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines, etc.:
apologist; dramatist; machinist; novelist; realist; socialist; Thomist. Cf.
-ism, -istic, -ize.Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.