Driver

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdɹaɪ.və/

Definitions

1. A person who operates a motor vehicle or directs its movement; a device or software controlling hardware functions in a computer system; a golf club designed to hit the ball long distances
2. An individual responsible for steering or controlling a vehicle; a program that enables communication between the operating system and hardware; a club used to strike golf balls over extended ranges
3. Someone who manages and guides a car or truck’s movement; software facilitating hardware operation by the OS; a long-handled club intended for powerful golf shots

Etymology: "Driver" is about as plain as English compounds get: the verb "drive" with the agent suffix "-er," the ending that turns an action into the person doing it. The suffix is old, going back through Old English "-ere" to a Proto-Germanic form, and it appears across the family, so German "Treiber," Dutch "drijver," and Swedish "drivare" all describe the same kind of person in their own languages. The Middle English form "drivere" (also spelled "dryvere" and "dryvare") was built the same way, from "drive" plus "-er." Its meaning followed the verb: a person who drives animals or objects forward, such as a cattle driver, before it came to mean someone who guides a vehicle. The vehicle sense is a later extension of the original sense of forcing something onward.

Synonyms: operator, chauffeur, motorist, conductor, pilot

Antonyms: passenger