Etymology

tourist

T1O1U1R1I1S1T1

Today it means: Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business; a leisure visitor. Full definition →

First used 1770sEnglish tour ← Old French tour ← Latin tornō
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*terh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*tórh₁nos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*tórnos
  4. Ancient Greekτόρνος (tórnos)
  5. Latintornus
  6. Latintornō
  7. Old Frenchtorner
  8. Old Frenchtour
  9. Englishtour
  10. English todaytourist

From tour + -ist. Doublet of turista.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1770s Someone who travels for pleasure rather than for business; a leisure visitor.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.