Pugilist is from Latin pugil ('a boxer') + the suffix -ist. Pugil derives from pugnus ('fist'), related to pugnare ('to fight'). Important recorded forms include pugil (Latin), pugnus (Latin), and *pewǵ- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers a person who fights with their fists; a boxer. The wider family includes derived forms such as pugilistic and related words such as pugilism, pugnacious, and impugn.