Inverters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device that converts direct current to alternating current for use in electrical systems
2. Equipment used to transform DC into AC power to accommodate various applications
3. A component essential for changing electrical energy forms, facilitating the operation of numerous electrical devices

Etymology: The plural "inverters" simply takes the plural "-s" on "inverter", a device name that is built from the verb "invert" plus the agent suffix "-er". That suffix has a long pedigree: it passed into English through Middle English "-er" from Old French "-ier", which came from Latin "-arius", a suffix used to form nouns naming a person or thing connected with something. The same ending turns up in words such as "butcher" and "carpenter" in the older English layer of the language. "Invert" itself reaches English from Latin "invertere", meaning to turn upside down or turn inside out. That physical sense is the original one: something that has been inverted has been flipped over or reversed in position. From that root, English later built the technical sense of a device that reverses a quantity or flow, and "inverters" in the modern sense are the machines that change direct current into alternating current, or otherwise reverse or convert electrical power.

Synonyms: converters