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colonist

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Etymology and origin of the English word colonist

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1658 J. Votier, Vox Dei & Hominis More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Latin colō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English colony
English colonist

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkɒlənɪst/[1]
  • US: /ˈkɑlənɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English colony + -ist,[2][3][4][5] after colonize.[4][6] The base is from Latin colōnia (“settled land, farm, landed estate”), from colōnus (“husbandman, tenant farmer, settler”), from colō (“to cultivate, till, inhabit”), which Etymonline derives from Proto-Indo-European *kwel- (“to revolve, move round; to dwell”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who goes to settle in a place, especially as part of a state's effort to take control of the area: 1658, in J. Votier's Vox Dei & Hominis.[4] Other dictionaries date it later: Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged have 1701,[2][3] and the Shorter Oxford the early 18th century.[6] Dictionary.com calls the word an Americanism of 1695–1705.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word first named a person taking part in settling a place, and later anyone living in a colony: Etymonline dates this from 1749, the OED from 1753.[2][4] Biology took it up for a plant or animal spreading into a new area, first in Darwin in 1839,[4] and H. C. Watson used it from 1847 for a plant species presumed to have come in as a weed.[4] From 1851 it was also a member of a labour colony.[4] In American politics of the mid-19th century it meant a person who moved into a district for a while in order to vote for one side.[4][6] A much earlier Colonist of 1566, an inhabitant of Cologne, comes separately from the Latin name of that city, Colōnia.[4]

Timeline

  • 1566 – Colonist, an inhabitant of Cologne.[4]
  • 1658 – a person who goes to settle in a place.[4] Etymonline has 1701.[2]
  • 1749 – an inhabitant of a colony.[2] The OED has 1753.[4]
  • 1839 – a plant or animal that spreads into a new area.[4]
  • 1851 – a member of a labour colony.[4]
  • 1860 – in American politics, a temporary resident who votes in a district.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who settles in or colonizes a new area: Early colonists cleared the river valley for farms.[7][3][4]
  2. A member or inhabitant of a colony.[7][3][4]
  3. A plant, animal or other organism that spreads into a new area and is among the first to become established there.[4][6]
  4. A member of a labour colony.[4]
  5. (US politics) A person who moves into a district for a time to vote for one side in an election.[4][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Colonist.” Etymologically, 5 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/colonist. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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