anarchist

What it means

1. One who believes in or advocates the absence of hierarchy and authority in most forms (compare anarchism), especially one who works toward the realization of such.

   But nothing has revived anarchism like globalization. Anarchists are now battling what they see as a concentration of power in multinational corporations.

   2000 August 5, Joseph Kahn, “Anarchism, the Creed That Won't Stay Dead; The Spread of World Capitalism Resurrects a Long-Dormant Movement”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   1 more example

   Eh bien ! vous êtes démocrate ? — Non. — Quoi ! vous seriez monarchique ? — Non. — Constitutionnel ? — Dieu m’en garde. — Vous êtes donc aristocrate ? — Point du tout. — Vous voulez un gouvernement mixte ? — Encore moins. — Qu’êtes-vous donc ? — Je suis anarchiste.

   1849 [1840], Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, “Caractères de la communauté et de la propriété”, in Qu’est-ce que la propriété?, page 237; English translation from “Characteristics of Communism and of Property.”, in Benjamin Tucker, transl., What Is Property?, 1876, page 272

2. One who disregards laws and social norms as a form of rebellion against authority.
3. broadlyOne who promotes chaos and lawlessness.

   You have heard that Anarchists throw bombs, that they believe in violence, and that Anarchy means disorder and chaos.

   1929, Alexander Berkman, “Is Anarchism Violence?”, in Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism, New York: Vanguard Press, →OCLC

   Synonyms: nihilist

In a sentence

Eh bien ! vous êtes démocrate ? — Non. — Quoi ! vous seriez monarchique ? — Non. — Constitutionnel ? — Dieu m’en garde. — Vous êtes donc aristocrate ? — Point du tout. — Vous voulez un gouvernement mixte ? — Encore moins. — Qu’êtes-vous donc ? — Je suis anarchiste.

1849 [1840], Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, “Caractères de la communauté et de la propriété”, in Qu’est-ce que la propriété?, page 237; English translation from “Characteristics of Communism and of Property.”, in Benjamin Tucker, transl., What Is Property?, 1876, page 272

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Indo-European*né
2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
3. Proto-Hellenic*ə-
4. Ancient Greekἀ- (a-)
5. Proto-Indo-European*h₂er-der.?
6. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ergʰ-der.?
7. Ancient Greekἄρχω (árkhō)
8. Ancient Greekἀρχή (arkhḗ)
9. Ancient Greekἄναρχος (ánarkhos)
10. Ancient Greekἀναρχία (anarkhía)
11. Frenchanarchie
12. Frenchanarchiste
13. Englishanarchist

From French anarchiste, from Ancient Greek ἀναρχία (anarkhía) from the roots ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “rule”), equivalent to anarchy + -ist.