modernist

Etymology

It is formed from English modern + -ist.^[1][2][3][4] The OED compares German Modernist, used by Luther in 1524 for an advocate of modern theories, and notes that the theological sense follows Medieval Latin modernista in Pope Pius X's encyclical “Pascendi” (1907).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person of modern times: 1588, in John Harvey's discourse on prophecies; the sense is obsolete, recorded only to 1593.^[1][3][2]

Semantic evolution

From 1703 a modernist was a supporter of modern ways or methods, and in the 18th century specifically one who held modern literature to be better than ancient;^[1][3] Etymonline dates this sense to 1704.^[2] In British education from 1856 it was, rarely, someone who wanted modern subjects taught instead of the classics.^[1] As modernism came to name movements in the arts and in theology, the word followed: from 1879 an artist, architect or writer whose work is modernist,^[1] and since 1907, often with a capital, a supporter of theological modernism, after the papal encyclical.^[1][3] Etymonline dates the arts sense to 1925.^[2] In 1932 it was also a player or fan of modern jazz.^[1] The adjective is recorded from 1848, in Charles Kingsley's Yeast.^[1][4]

Timeline

• 1588 – a person of modern times (obsolete by 1593).^[1][2]
• 1703 – a supporter of modern ways; one who prefers modern to ancient literature.^[1][2]
• 1848 – adjective, having to do with modernism or modernists.^[1]
• 1856 – an advocate of teaching modern subjects instead of the classics.^[1]
• 1879 – an artist or writer of the modernist movement.^[1] Etymonline dates this sense to 1925.^[2]
• 1907 – in theology, a supporter of modernism.^[1]
• 1932 – a player or fan of modern jazz.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. A follower or practitioner of modernism in the arts, such as a writer, painter or architect who breaks with traditional forms.^[4][1][3]
2. A person who admires modern ways or ideas, or holds modern times to be better than the past.^[4][1]
3. (theology) A supporter of modernism in religion, which reinterprets traditional doctrine in the light of modern thought.^[4][1][3]

Adjective

1. Having to do with modernism or modernists: a modernist poem.^[4][1]

Word family

• antimodernist
• modernistic

Related words

• modern
• modernism
• postmodernist

References

1. ^ 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
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster