Meaning

noun a cleric who holds more than one benefice at a time

noun a philosopher who believes that no single explanation can account for all the phenomena of nature

noun someone who believes that distinct ethnic or cultural or religious groups can exist together in society

originEtymology tree English plural Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist English pluralist From plural + -ist.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0