The word 信徒 is formed by combining two characters: 信, which means "to believe" or "faith", and 徒, which means "follower" or "disciple". Together, they create a new, unified concept where 信 provides the core idea of belief or trust, and 徒 specifies the human role associated with that belief. It is a direct and intuitive semantic compound where the first character modifies the second, resulting in the meaning "one who is a follower through faith", or simply, a "believer" or "devotee".