3 ms·

I was hoping someone here would be able to explain it to me!

• dhosek 6y ago
  No explanation, but Spanish has some similar things with the -ista suffix (e.g., jornalista = journalist, Zapatista = follower of Zapata, etc.). In Latin, those nouns are grammatically feminine and would be referred to with feminine pronouns and modified with feminine adjectives. There are a handful of first-declension names that take masculine pronouns and adjectives, none of which spring to mind at the moment.
  • stevula 6y ago
    As with nauta, pirata, and poeta, the suffix -ista is also borrowed from Greek which is a source of many masculine 1st declension loanwords in Latin.
  • tomcooks 6y ago
    (Jornalista is Portuguese, you're looking for periodista)
  • thaumasiotes 6y ago
    > In Latin, those nouns are grammatically feminine and would be referred to with feminine pronouns and modified with feminine adjectives. This is not correct; dnautics mentioned a set of nouns which are common and always masculine. Textbooks generally cover this set specifically. Wheelock provides a list and the acronymic mnemonic UNUS NAUTA, which -- it points out -- doubles as a way to emphasize that nauta is masculine, not feminine.