Fractionator

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device or apparatus used to separate a mixture into its component parts or fractions based on differences in physical or chemical properties; one who or that which performs the process of fractionation, dividing materials into portions
2. An instrument designed to isolate and divide substances into distinct segments or fractions through physical or chemical means; an entity responsible for carrying out the fractionation process
3. Equipment employed to separate a complex mixture into smaller, purified sections called fractions, often used in chemical or industrial processes; the operator or mechanism executing such separation tasks

Etymology: Fractionator is a plain English formation: the verb "fractionate" with the agent suffix "-or" added to it. The verb "fractionate" is built from "fraction" plus the "-ate" suffix, which in English forms verbs from nouns and adjectives. "Fraction" itself came into English in the Middle Ages, borrowed through Old French from Latin "fractio", meaning a breaking, from "frangere", "to break". The suffix "-or" traces back through Old French "-eor" and Latin "-ator" and "-tor" to a Proto-Italic agent marker, meaning one who performs an action. So a fractionator is literally the thing or person that breaks something into parts. The word's chemical sense, a column or apparatus that separates mixtures by boiling point or other properties, reflects this same idea of dividing a whole into portions.

Synonyms: separater, distiller, separator