'romanticist' originates from English, specifically the word 'romantic' (from French 'romantique'), where 'romant-' originally referred to 'romance' (narrative in the vernacular) and the suffix '-ist' (from Greek '-istēs' via Latin/French) meant 'one who practices or is concerned with'.

'romanticist' developed in 19th-century English by combining the adjective 'romantic' (which came into English via French 'romantique' from Old French 'romanz'/'romance') with the agentive suffix '-ist', producing a noun meaning 'an adherent of Romanticism'.

Initially related to 'romance' (stories in the vernacular) and later to qualities associated with those stories, the term evolved so that 'romanticist' came to mean both a follower of the Romantic movement and, more generally, a person given to sentimental or idealistic views of love and life.