'dissonantist' originates from English, specifically formed from the adjective 'dissonant' plus the suffix '-ist', where 'dissonant' meant 'producing or marked by disagreement of sounds' and the suffix '-ist' denotes 'one who practices, is concerned with, or advocates'.

'dissonant' is derived from Latin 'dissonans' (present participle of 'dissonare'), where Latin 'dis-' meant 'apart' and 'sonare' meant 'to sound'; 'dissonans' passed into Middle English as 'dissonant' and, in modern English usage, yielded the novel agent noun formation 'dissonantist' by adding '-ist'.

Initially, 'dissonant' meant 'being at variance in sound' (i.e., producing discordant sounds); over time the term broadened to include metaphorical senses of discord or incongruity, and 'dissonantist' has come to mean specifically 'one who favors or produces musical/sonic dissonance.'