"one given to controversy," 1859, an American English formation parallel to polemist (1825), from Greek polemistēs "a warrior," from polemizein "to wage war, to make war," from polemos "war," a word of unknown origin.
pole
poleax
polecat
polemarch
polemic
polemicist
polemicize
polemology
polenta
pole-star
pole-vault