Clarist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A nun or follower belonging to the religious order founded by Saint Clare of Assisi in the thirteenth century
2. Someone who adheres to the Franciscan rule of life associated with the Order of Saint Clare, often called a Poor Clare
3. A woman devoted to religious life under the Rule of Saint Clare, a contemplative order within the Franciscan tradition

Etymology: Saint Clare of Assisi was a thirteenth-century follower of Saint Francis who founded a religious order of women, and "clarist" is the name for a member of that order. The word is built in the most ordinary way: the personal name "Clare," which itself comes from the Latin "clarus" meaning "bright" or "clear," takes the suffix "-ist," which marks a follower or adherent of a person, cause or belief. The same pattern produces words like "Calvinist" or "Lutheran," where the suffix names the people who follow a founder. The "-ist" suffix comes from Greek "-istēs," an agent ending attached to nouns and verbs, and it passed into English largely through Latin and French. Because the suffix attaches so readily to names, a religious order named for its founder can easily generate a member term like this one.