[1555–65; ‹ LL catēchista ‹ Gk katēchiste᷄s, equiv. to katēch(eîn) to teach by word of mouth, orig. to din down, i.e. to get results by shouting (kat- cata- + ēcheîn to sound) + istēs -ist]This word is first recorded in the period 1555–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: diabetes, halo, probe, review, social-ist is a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in -ize or nouns ending in -ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certainprinciples, doctrines, etc. Other words that use the affix -ist include: Thomist, apologist, dramatist, realist, socialist