Flatteners

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of tools or devices designed to create a level or even surface for various materials or settings
2. various methods or techniques employed to achieve symmetry or uniformity in different fields
3. approaches that reduce the complexity or variations of elements into a simpler, more manageable form

Etymology: "Flatteners" is the plural of "flattener," an agent noun built from the verb "flatten" plus the suffix "-er," meaning one that does the action. "Flatten" is itself formed from the adjective "flat," which English took in from Old Norse "flatr," a word of the same family as Old English "flet," meaning a floor or level surface. The verb adds "-en," a common English way of turning adjectives into verbs, as in "widen" or "soften." The literal sense is a thing or device that makes something level. The meaning given here, methods for producing symmetry or uniformity, is a figurative extension: the same idea of smoothing out differences, applied to abstract or technical processes. Nothing in the history of this particular word points to a specific inventor or event, so its development is simply a matter of the suffix and the sense extending from physical surfaces to general practices.

Synonyms: compressors, smoothers, levelers