Zionite

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A member or supporter of a movement advocating the establishment of a homeland for Jewish people in the territory historically known as Zion; a proponent of Jewish nationalism and cultural identity; an adherent of ideological or religious principles tied to the concept of a Jewish state
2. An individual who aligns with and promotes the idea of Jewish self-determination and a sovereign nation in the biblical land of Israel; a follower of the political and cultural ideology that seeks to secure a Jewish homeland; a participant in or sympathizer with activities supporting Zionist goals
3. Someone devoted to the cause of establishing and maintaining a Jewish nation in the ancestral land of Zion; a person involved in or endorsing the Jewish nationalist movement; a constituent of the collective effort aimed at realizing a Jewish sovereign territory

Etymology: "Zionite" is a plain formation: the noun "Zion" with the suffix "-ite," which English uses to name a follower or member of a group, as in "Israelite" or "Luddite." "Zion" itself is a name with deep roots in the Hebrew Bible, where it first refers to a hill in Jerusalem and then, by extension, to the city and the people associated with it. The suffix does the work of turning a place-name into a label for people. A "Zionite" is therefore, at its most literal, someone associated with Zion. Over time the term has come to name adherents of the political movement that takes its name from the same word, and in that sense it carries the modern sense of supporting a Jewish homeland. The word is a transparent compound, so its meaning follows directly from the two parts it is built from.