Prohibitionist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person advocating for the legal banning of certain substances or practices, particularly alcohol in the early 20th century
2. Someone who supports restrictions or laws aimed at controlling or eliminating specific behaviors deemed harmful
3. An individual who campaigns for the enforcement of various prohibitory measures to regulate social conduct or substance use

Etymology: Prohibitionist is a plain formation: the noun "prohibition" with the suffix "-ist" added, meaning someone who supports a ban. The suffix carries most of the history. It travelled from ancient Greek "-istēs", which marked a person who practised or followed something, through Latin "-ista", into Old French "-iste", and then into Middle English, where it was reinforced by Latin and French models. English therefore had a ready-made pattern for naming partisans of a cause, such as "royalist" or "socialist". The base word "prohibition" comes from Latin "prohibitio", a noun built from "prohibere", meaning to hold back or keep off. Its literal sense is the act of restraining someone or something. The modern sense of forbidding a trade in alcohol came later, and it is that sense the suffix attaches to. A prohibitionist, then, is literally a person who holds back the sale of drink.

Synonyms: abstainer, forbidder

Antonyms: liberal, permissive