A person who supports, follows, or believes in a particular person, cause, religion, or set of ideas; a follower or supporter.
From Latin 'adhaerens,' present participle of 'adhaerere' (to stick to, stick with). The term evolved from describing physical sticking to describe loyal attachment to ideas or people.
The word 'adherent' perfectly captures the Latin idea of sticking with something—medieval monks were adherents of monasticism, just as electrons adhere to atoms through electromagnetic forces!
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