Personalizer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or company that adapts a product, service or item to suit a particular customer's tastes ; a feature or tool that customizes content to match an individual user's preferences
2. Someone who modifies goods or offerings so they reflect a specific buyer's wishes ; a program or setting that adjusts displayed material to fit the habits of a single user
3. A provider who tailors items to one client's needs ; an application mechanism that shapes what a particular user sees according to their past choices

Etymology: "Personalizer" is a simple formation: it takes the verb "personalize" and adds the agent suffix "-er," so it names a thing or person that personalizes. The verb itself comes from "personal," which traces back through Old French and Latin to "persona," a mask worn by an actor, later a character or individual. The suffix does the rest of the work, turning the action of making something individual into a noun for whoever or whatever carries it out. The sense in which the word is used now is more recent than its parts. Its meanings split into two: a business or tradesperson who tailors goods or services to one customer, and a software mechanism that adjusts what a user sees based on past choices. The second sense is the newer and more common one, and it grew from the same idea of fitting a general product to a single individual.

Synonyms: customizer