Abrader

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈbɹeɪ.dɚ/

Definitions

1. A tool or device used to wear down, smooth, or remove material from a surface through friction
2. An instrument designed to scrape, grind, or polish surfaces by rubbing or abrasion
3. A device employed to gradually reduce or erode surfaces by mechanical rubbing or grinding

Etymology: "Abrader" is a plain agent noun: the English suffix "-er", meaning a person or thing that performs an action, attached to the verb "abrade." Abrade itself comes from Latin "abradere," meaning "to scrape off," built from "ab-" (away, off) and "radere" (to scrape). So an abrader is literally something that scrapes away. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the verb. It traces back through Old English "-ere" and Middle English "-ere" to Latin "-arius," which denoted a person connected with a trade or function, and from which Old French "-ier" also descended. English reached its modern form "-er" by the Middle English period, which is why the same ending appears in words as ordinary as "baker" and "writer."

Synonyms: grinder, sander