Capacitor

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈpæ.sɪ.tə/

Definitions

1. An electronic component that stores electrical energy temporarily in an electric field between two conductive plates
2. A device that temporarily holds electric energy in an electric field created between two conductive materials, primarily used in electronic circuits for various functions
3. This component is designed to store and release electrical energy, utilizing the electric field formed between a pair of conductive plates for energy management in circuits

Etymology: Before "capacitor" existed, the device was called a "condenser," a name coined by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta in 1782. That term caused trouble because engineers also used "condenser" for the steam condenser in engines, so the two machines were easily confused. In 1926, the British Standard Glossary of Terms in Electrical Engineering recommended the switch to "capacitor," and the new name stuck. The word itself is built from "capacity" with the agent suffix "-or," so it names a thing that holds a quantity, here electric charge. The base "capacity" comes from Latin "capacitas," meaning room to hold or contain, from "capax," capable of holding much. The electrical sense draws on that older idea of containing something, which is exactly what the device does when it stores charge between two conductors.

Synonyms: condenser