The formal study of the future goes by a number of names, including foresight and futures studies (the academic field's most preferred terms, emphasizing the plurality of possible, probable, and preferable futures), future studies (the singular term remains popular in lay writing but not with scholars), strategic foresight (a term steadily increasing in popularity in recent decades), prospective studies (Europe), prospectiva (Spain and Latin America), prognostics (Eastern Europe), futuribles (France) and a range of lesser-used synonyms (futurology, futuring, futuristics, etc.).
The Oxford English Dictionary traces earliest English usage of the term futurist to 1842, referring to Christian scriptural futurists. The next usage occurs with the Italian and Russian Futurists of the early 20th century (1900's-1930's), an artistic, literary, and political movement that sought to reject the past and rather uncritically embraced speed, technology, and violent change.