Contextualists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who believe that the interpretation of information requires consideration of the context in which it is presented
2. Individuals who argue that understanding depends on the circumstances surrounding information
3. People who maintain that the significance of data or statements is shaped by the situation in which they occur

Etymology: The word is a plain, recent formation: "contextual" plus the suffix "-ist", the same ending found in "scientist" or "pianist", which marks a person who holds or practises a particular doctrine. The base "context" itself came into English from Latin "contextus", meaning a weaving together or a connected whole, from "contexere", "to weave together", built from "com-" ("together") and "texere" ("to weave"). The sense of text surrounding a passage, which "contextual" builds on, is a later development of that idea of things woven together. The plural "contextualists" is simply the plural of "contextualist", so it names a group of people who share this view. The -ist ending comes into English through Latin "-ista" and Old French "-iste", and it was the ending attached in the same way to older English words such as "Calvinist" and "realist".