'colonist-community' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'colonist' and 'community', where 'colonist' ultimately comes from Latin 'colonus' meaning 'farmer' or 'settler', and 'community' comes from Latin 'communitas' meaning 'sharedness' or 'fellowship'.

'colonist' derived from Latin 'colonus' via Old French and Middle English into the modern English 'colonist'; 'community' derived from Latin 'communitas' through Old French 'communité' into Middle English 'community'; the compound 'colonist-community' is a modern English formation combining these two words to denote a settlement of colonists.

Individually, 'colonist' initially meant 'a settler' and 'community' meant 'a group sharing common life or interests'; combined as 'colonist-community' the meaning has become a specific label for a community or settlement established by colonists.