[Ads-l] -ista

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Wow! That's a great citation, Bill. Following your lead, I pushed back
the date to 1911 by searching for "Wilsonistas" in newspapers.com

Date: September 14, 1911
Newspaper: The State
Newspaper Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Article: The State's Survey
Quote Page 4, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-wilsonistas/189546366/

[Begin excerpt]
Adherents of the numerous Presidential possibilities may thankfully
bethink them that they are not going to be called Taftistas,
Wilsonistas, or Clarkistas. Even the most violent progressive would
resent, and rightly, the appellation "La Folletteista" with a blow.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Jan 21, 2026 at 11:30 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> The Dec 2025 updates for the OED included "-ista"
>
>
> First sense: "Forming nouns denoting a supporter of a (typically left-wing) politician, party, or position indicated by the first element", with a first citation in 1982.
>
>
> 1920 Custer County Republican [Broken Bow, NE] 12 Feb 2/3
> For the names and causes which have represented principles and policies in American history, and under whose control all our history has been written, Federalist, Republican, Democrat and Whig, they would substitute, after the Mexican pattern, Wilsonistas, Hooveristas, Fordistas, Debsistas and the like.
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/671385607/?match=1&terms=hooverista
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>
> 1972 New Orleans Times-Picayune 7 Jun 10/3
> At other caucuses McGovernistas and blacks stood on chairs, waved their fists and shouted “power.”
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/1255820191/?match=1&terms=mcgovernista
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> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org