I. -_lə̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: symbol (I) + -ist
1.
a. often capitalized : one who regards the elements of the Eucharist as symbols and not as the body and blood of Christ
b. : one who advocates or employs symbolism in religious worship
2. : one who employs symbols or symbolism
3. : one skilled in the interpretation or explication of symbols
4. usually capitalized
[French symboliste, from symbole symbol (from Latin symbolus, symbolum ) + -iste -ist]
: one of a group of writers and artists (as in France after 1880) who are reactionists against realism and the theories and practices of the Parnassians and who concern themselves with general truths instead of actualities, exalt the metaphysical and the mysterious, and aim to unify and blend the arts and the functions of the senses — compare decadent 2
5. : a logician who advocates or employs symbolic logic
II. adjective
: of, relating to, or characteristic of symbolists