English
activist
From active + -ist.
A compound of active + -ist
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
Latin agō ‘to do, to act’
Latin āctīvus
Old French actif
Middle English actyf ‘active’
English active
Today it means
noun One who is politically active in the role of a citizen; especially, one who campaigns for change.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / activist