Chlorinator

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device used to introduce chlorine into water systems to disinfect and keep them free from harmful microorganisms
2. An apparatus designed to add chlorine to swimming pools or water treatment processes for sanitation purposes
3. A machine that ensures the proper dosage of chlorine in water, aiding in the maintenance of safe and clean water quality

Etymology: Chlorine itself was named in 1810 by Humphry Davy, who took the element's name from the Greek "khlōros", meaning pale green, a reference to its colour as a gas. Chlorinate was then formed in English by adding the verb-making suffix "-ate" to that stem, and the chlorinator is simply the device built from it, with the agent suffix "-or" added to the verb. The word is therefore a plain English compound of Greek and Latin parts rather than a single inherited term. The suffix "-or" comes down from Latin "-tor", which marked a person or thing that performs an action, and it reached English through Old French. Taken together, the word names a thing that does the chlorinating, that is, the apparatus that adds chlorine to water in controlled amounts.