Inflictor

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who delivers pain or suffering to others by their deeds
2. A person responsible for causing pain or distress to others
3. An agent who brings about physical or emotional injury to someone else

Etymology: "Inflictor" is a straightforward formation: the verb "inflict," with the agent suffix "-or" added to name the one who does the inflicting. "Inflict" itself comes from Latin "infligere," meaning to strike or dash against, built from "in-" (on, against) and "fligere" (to strike). The original sense was physical, a blow delivered onto someone, and it later broadened to cover punishments, wounds and burdens imposed on others. The suffix "-or," borrowed through Old French from Latin "-or," turns a verb into a noun for the doer of its action, as in "actor" or "governor." Attaching it to "inflict" yields a term for whoever carries out such an imposition, whether that is a blow, a penalty or a harm. The word is comparatively rare, which is why it reads as a more deliberate choice than "tormentor" or "attacker."