Etymologically
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supremacist

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /suːˈpreməsɪst/, /sjuːˈpreməsɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English supremacy + -ist.[2][3][4][5][6] Supremacy is from English supreme with -acy, or perhaps from Latin suprēmitās.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An advocate of or believer in the supremacy of a particular group: 1896, in the New Orleans Daily Picayune.[2] Etymonline finds it by 1892 in the phrase white supremacist, first of political campaigns and candidates in the American South, in Louisiana.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word was born in the politics of the American South in the 1890s, mostly in white supremacist.[3][2] It was later applied to believers in the supremacy of any group defined by race, religion or sex.[2][3] The adjective, relating to supremacists, is recorded from 1942, in the Pittsburgh Courier.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word only to 1946,[4] Dictionary.com to 1945–50,[6] and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 20th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1892 – in white supremacist, of political candidates in Louisiana.[3]
  • 1896 – noun, a believer in the supremacy of a particular group.[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1946.[4]
  • 1942 – adjective.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who believes in or promotes the supremacy of a particular group, especially one defined by race, religion or sex; especially, a white supremacist.[7][4][2]

Adjective

  1. Relating to or based on a belief in the supremacy of a particular group: supremacist propaganda.[7][2][5]

Word family

  • white supremacist
  • supremacism

References

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