Oecist

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈiːsɪst/

Definitions

1. A leader of a group who establishes a new settlement, typically in historical settings, and is pivotal in the formation and development of a colony or community structure
2. An individual charged with the responsibility of founding a colony by guiding settlers to a new location and fostering the initial community establishment
3. A person who initiates a new community or settlement by leading and organizing the first inhabitants in a specific location

Etymology: "Oecist" names the person who led a group of settlers out to found a new colony, and the Greek city-states gave the role real weight. The term comes from Ancient Greek "oikistēs," a word built on "oikizein," meaning "to found a settlement" or "to colonize," which itself derives from "oikos," the household or home. The founder, in other words, was the one who turned a household into a city. In English the word stayed almost entirely within classical scholarship, appearing in histories and translations that describe Greek colonization. Its pronunciation in English, /ˈiːsɪst/, reflects the spelling with "oe" pronounced as a long "ee" sound rather than the "oy" or "oh" a reader might expect from the letters alone.