Launchers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device specifically engineered to propel missiles or other projectiles into the atmosphere; systems that activate and manage the release of airborne objects or rockets; equipment designed to transport payloads onto designated paths or into orbiting positions
2. Machines or devices used to project objects over distances, often for military or recreational purposes ; applications or tools that initiate the opening of software or files on electronic devices
3. Apparatuses built to send missiles or other items into motion by force ; programs designed to quickly open and activate other computer applications or documents

Etymology: "Launcher" is the agent form of "launch," so the plural "launchers" simply means more than one such device or program. "Launch" itself came into English in the 14th century, borrowed from Anglo-Norman or Old French "lancier," meaning to hurl a spear or throw forcefully, which in turn traces back to Latin "lanceare," from "lancea," the lance. The original sense was therefore very physical: to throw a lance or spear, and by extension to send anything hurtling forward. Over the centuries the sense drifted toward setting things in motion generally. A ship was "launched" when it slid down the slipway into the water, and by the 1600s the verb covered sending a vessel off on a voyage, which is why the noun "launcher" later came to describe devices that propel missiles. The computing sense arrived much later, in the twentieth century, when operating systems and interfaces began using the term for programs that start other applications on a user's behalf.

Synonyms: projectors, catapults, throwers, dischargers, emitters