ministerialist
|min-is-te-ri-al-ist|
🇺🇸
/ˌmɪnəˈstɪriəlɪst/
🇬🇧
/ˌmɪnɪˈstɪəriəlɪst/
supporter of ministers / advocate of ministerial government
Etymology
'ministerialist' originates from Modern English, specifically from the adjective 'ministerial' plus the agent suffix '-ist', where 'minister' (from Latin 'minister') meant 'servant' or 'attendant' and the suffix '-ist' denotes 'one who supports or practices'.
'ministerialist' developed by adding the English suffix '-ist' to 'ministerial'. 'Ministerial' itself comes from Latin 'ministerialis' (from 'minister'), passed into Late Latin and then into Middle English as 'ministerial', eventually producing the modern English formation 'ministerialist'.
Initially related to 'of or pertaining to a minister' (i.e., 'servant' or 'attendant' in Latin), the sense evolved in modern usage to denote either a supporter of ministers/ministerial government or an advocate of ministerialism as a political position.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who supports or favors a ministry or the ministers of a government; a supporter of ministerial government or a ministerial party.
During the crisis he was a noted ministerialist, backing the cabinet's policies despite public criticism.
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Noun 2
an advocate of ministerialism — the political principle that ministers (or a ministerial cabinet) should hold executive authority; someone who favors ministerial (cabinet) responsibility.
As a ministerialist, she argued for stronger cabinet responsibility and less parliamentary fragmentation.
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Last updated: 2025/11/05 22:24