anarchist

Etymology

It is formed from English anarchy + -ist,^[2][3][4][5] partly after anarchism.^[2] The Shorter Oxford takes the early uses as formed from anarch with the same suffix, and the later ones as modelled on French anarchiste;^[6] the French noun is recorded from 1791 and the adjective from 1798, and German Anarchist, taken from French, from 1793 or earlier.^[2] Anarchy itself is from Medieval Latin anarchia,^[2][3] from Ancient Greek ἀναρχία (anarkhía, “lack of a leader, lawlessness”), from ἄναρχος (ánarkhos, “without a chief or head”),^[2][3] which Etymonline analyses as a negative prefix and the word for a leader.^[3] The Oxford Dictionary of English derives the English word directly from the Greek adjective with the suffix, later influenced by the French noun.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who causes or stirs up anarchy; a rebel against authority or established order: 1648, in M. Nedham's “Plea for King”.^[2] Merriam-Webster's Unabridged gives 1646 as the first known use,^[4] while Etymonline dates the word to the 1670s, as one who denies the validity of ruling power,^[3] and the 1989 OED and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate to 1678.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

According to Etymonline the word got a boost during the French Revolution;^[3] the French noun is first recorded in 1791,^[2] and the Shorter Oxford sees French influence in the later English use.^[6] In the 19th century it named both a person who holds the absence of government to be a political ideal, as in philosophical anarchism, and one who seeks to overthrow all the institutions of society and government by violence, without meaning to set up others.^[3] The OED's definition likewise moves from a rebel against authority to, later, especially an advocate of the political philosophy of anarchism.^[2] Merriam-Webster singles out the use of violent means to overthrow the established order,^[4][9] and Black's Law Dictionary defines the word by both the forcible overthrow of government and the ideal of no government.^[10] The adjective use, of or relating to anarchists, is recorded from 1797, in the “True Briton”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1648 – a person who stirs up anarchy; a rebel against authority or settled order.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates this sense to 1646.^[4]
• 1678 – one who admits no ruling power; an advocate of anarchy.^[8][9] Etymonline dates the word to the 1670s.^[3]
• 1797 – adjective, of or relating to anarchists or anarchism.^[2]
• 19th century – one who holds the absence of government as a political ideal; also one who seeks the violent overthrow of all institutions.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who believes in or promotes anarchism, the view that government should be abolished and replaced by voluntary cooperation: The pamphlet was printed by a circle of anarchists in Geneva.^{[11][4][6][2]}
2. A person who rebels against any authority, established order or ruling power, or who causes disorder: In the art world he was something of an anarchist.^[11][4][9]
3. Especially, one who uses violent means to overthrow the established order.^[4][9][10]

Adjective

1. Of or relating to anarchists or anarchism; organized according to anarchism.^[2][9]

Word family

• anarchistic

Related words

• anarchy
• anarch
• anarchism
• monarch
• archon

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins