Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#178568 08/08/08 12:37 PM
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1
V
Vicsoc Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
V
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1
My husband and I were reading the paper this morning with its discussion about the new fashionistas and he was asking if I knew how "ista" came into the language. We now have fashionistas, Starbucks seems to have introduced "barista" and, I am sure, there are others.

For some reason I immediately thought it went back to the Cuban revolution of the 1950's. Of course I may think this because the revolution overthrew Batista.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
It's related to the -ist suffix which means amongst other things (1) a person who does something. physicist or (2) a follower of a school, socialist, etc. I felt the common Romance form, -ista, came in from Italian, barista, and means the person who makes espresso and similar coffee drinks. (The bar in barista is from the English bar. It's from a Greek suffix for forming agentive nouns, cf. antagōnistēs (whence English antagonist) for 'rival' (literally 'one who struggles').


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
Starbucks didn't introduce barista. Starbucks haven't even introduced coffee yet.

Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 390
L
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
L
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 390
 Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
It's related to the -ist suffix which means amongst other things (1) a person who does something. physicist or (2) a follower of a school, socialist, etc. I felt the common Romance form, -ista, came in from Italian, barista, and means the person who makes espresso and similar coffee drinks. (The bar in barista is from the English bar.


so does "barista" mean "coffee maker" or just plain old "barman" in Italy?

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
or just plain old "barman" in Italy?

It means the person who serves you at the bar. Bars in Italy have a slightly different meaning from those in the States. They serve coffee, other drinks, and snacks.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
I'm sure I had heard of fashionistas before I was aware of baristas. But then I don't like coffee.

Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067
 Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
or just plain old "barman" in Italy?

It means the person who serves you at the bar. Bars in Italy have a slightly different meaning from those in the States. They serve coffee, other drinks, and snacks.


Here too, a 'milk bar' is (or rather used to be) a small corner shop/cafe that serves milkshakes, snacks, maybe hot chips, etc.

Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
M
addict
Offline
addict
M
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
My guess is Sandinista since they did the overthrowing of Nicaragua in 1979 (rather than being overthrown like Batista). Sandinista! was also a 1980 album title for The Clash. I think the English usage of junta comes from this as well.

Last edited by Myridon; 08/09/08 04:35 PM.
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
The OED1 has junta in its modern meaning from 1623. Bautista is a Spanish variant for baptist. There's also turista (M-W from 1962) and fascista (< Italian) from 1921.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
M
addict
Offline
addict
M
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
I hadn't checked till now but m-w.com has
Main Entry: fashˇionˇisˇta
Pronunciation: \ˌfa-shə-ˈnēs-tə\
Function: noun
Etymology: 1fashion + -ista (as in Sandinista)
Date: 1993
I think the -ista in fashionista is supposed to reflect the radical or revolutionary sense of the Sandinista National Liberation Front while others are more direct borrowings of the original equivalent to English -ist.
With my comment on junta, I meant to refer to the more recent popularity than the first usage. I think it's been in and out of style a few times over the centuries... Charles I, War of Spanish Succession, Napoleon, Sandinistas.

Last edited by Myridon; 08/10/08 06:18 PM.

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5