The Spanish word 'marxista' (meaning 'Marxist') comes from combining the German surname 'Marx' (from Karl Marx) with two Spanish suffixes. First, the surname was combined with the suffix '-ismo' (meaning 'doctrine' or 'system of beliefs') to form 'marxismo' (Marxism). Then, the suffix '-ista' (meaning 'one who adheres to or follows') was added to create 'marxista', referring to someone who follows or believes in Marxism.

Many Spanish words follow this same pattern of combining a base word with '-ismo' and '-ista'. Some simpler examples include 'turista' (tourist) from 'turismo' (tourism), 'artista' (artist) from 'arte' (art), and 'pianista' (pianist) from 'piano'. This pattern is very productive in Spanish for creating words that describe followers of particular movements, practitioners of activities, or professionals in certain fields.

The English cognates 'Marxist' and 'Marxism' follow exactly the same pattern of formation, using the English suffixes '-ism' and '-ist', which are direct equivalents of the Spanish '-ismo' and '-ista'. These suffix pairs come from the same Greek and Latin origins and are used very similarly in both languages. This parallel formation makes it easy for English speakers to recognize and remember the Spanish terms.