Brailler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device designed to emboss raised dots on paper for tactile reading by visually impaired individuals; a person who operates such a machine to produce Braille text; a system or tool facilitating written communication through raised sensory patterns
2. An apparatus used to create patterns of raised dots on surfaces for the blind; an individual skilled in using this device to transcribe text into tactile form; a means of rendering written language accessible to those with vision loss
3. Equipment that imprints tactile dot combinations on paper to enable reading by touch; a user who manipulates the machine to encode material in a braille system; a mechanism or role involved in producing readable embossed scripts for the visually impaired

Etymology: The word is simply "braille" plus the agent suffix "-er," which English inherited through a long chain: Latin "-arius" passed into Old French as "-ier," and from there into Middle English as "-er." The suffix turns a noun into a name for someone or something that performs an action, so a braille-er is one who or what puts braille on paper. The base word honours Louis Braille, a Frenchman who lost his sight in childhood and developed his raised-dot reading system. It was named for him, which is why the root carries his name rather than a descriptive term. The suffix, not the base, is where the older history lies. Because the suffix is ancient and the base is a personal name, the word is a fairly transparent compound: the dot-embossing device and the operator share one form, and the meaning extends from the machine to the person and then to any tool for tactile writing.

Synonyms: braille writer, braille machine, braille typewriter