Invertor

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device that changes direct current into alternating current ; a mechanism that reverses the direction or order of something ; an electrical component used to convert power types
2. An apparatus transforming DC to AC electrical flow ; a unit that flips the polarity or sequence of signals or parts ; a system part designed to alter electricity from one form to another
3. Equipment for converting steady electrical current into oscillating current ; a tool that reverses movement or operation direction ; an instrumental device enabling the change between power modes

Etymology: "Invertor" is simply "invert" with the agent suffix "-or" attached, so it names the thing that does the inverting. The "-or" ending itself has a long road behind it. It descends from Latin "-tor," which marked the person or thing that performs an action, and it reached English by way of Old French, where the Latin form had become "-eor" and then "-our" in Middle English. English later used the same ending in words like "actor" and "sailor," and eventually in "invertor," where it was attached to the verb "invert." In the case of this word, the meaning is literal and technical. An invertor is a device that converts a direct current supply into an alternating one, so "invert" is used in its older sense of turning something into its opposite or reversing its form, here reversing the direction of the electrical flow. The word stays close to its roots: it is a machine that does the reversing, named with the same ending that once named a person who performed a task.

Synonyms: inverter