-istasuff. A person who is partial to, knowledgeable about, or associated with: fashionista.[Partly from Spanish -ista, -ist; see Sandinista, and partly from Italian -ista, -ist; see barista.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.-ista combining form indicating a supporter or follower of someone or something: fashionista; Portillista. [C20: back formation from Sandinista]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014