Prolongationist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who supports or argues for the extension or continuation of something beyond its normal or expected end
2. Someone who advocates for lengthening or drawing out a process, condition, or state rather than allowing it to conclude
3. An advocate for extending the duration or postponing the termination of a particular thing or circumstance

Etymology: "Prolong" came into English in the late Middle Ages from Old French, which had taken it from Latin "prolongare." That verb combines "pro-," meaning forward, with "longus," long, so the core idea is still stretching something out in time or space. The noun "prolongation" followed the same path. The "-ist" ending comes from Greek "-istēs," which Latin adapted as "-ista" and French as "-iste." It forms nouns for people who practise or support a doctrine, so the word names adherents of prolongation. Such terms usually arise when a debate needs a label for its supporters, and this one is most at home in discussions of extending human life.