Anodizer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or machine that applies a protective anodized layer to a metal surface to prevent corrosion
2. An individual or apparatus responsible for adding an oxide coating to metals through an electrolytic process
3. Someone or something that treats metal by creating a durable anodic oxide film on its surface to enhance resistance

Etymology: "Anodizer" is a machine or person that anodizes metal, and the word is built in the most transparent way English allows: the verb "anodize" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, meaning one who or that which performs the action. The suffix "-er" has been used this way for centuries to name workers and tools, from "baker" to "printer." The verb it rests on is the more interesting part. "Anodize" comes from "anode," the electrode through which current enters a cell, which itself was coined by the scientist Michael Faraday in the 1830s from Greek roots meaning "way up," reflecting the idea of current travelling upward. Anodizing uses that electrical process to thicken the natural oxide layer on a metal such as aluminium, so the surface becomes harder and more corrosion-resistant. The word therefore names both a tool and a process whose name was built from an 1830s laboratory term rather than from any ancient vocabulary.

Synonyms: anodiser, electroplater, coater