Powerplant

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The engine or motor assembly that produces mechanical or electrical energy for a vehicle or machine ; a large industrial plant that generates electricity for a region
2. The mechanical unit that creates motive force in a vehicle or device ; a generating station that supplies electricity on a large scale
3. An engine or drive system that converts fuel into usable energy in a machine ; a utility facility that produces electric power for distribution

Etymology: "Powerplant" is simply the closed-up spelling of "power plant," and the two-word form is the older, more established one. The compound pairs "power," from Old French "poer" and Latin "potere" ("to be able"), with "plant," an Old English word for a growing thing that later came to mean a factory or installation. The sense that gave us the modern term arose when "plant" took on the meaning of machinery and equipment set up for industrial work, so a power plant is literally a facility whose equipment produces energy. In its engine sense, the term describes the machinery that generates motive force, whether a steam engine, a turbine, or a motor. The closed spelling appears mainly in technical and aviation writing, where engineers refer to the engine itself as the powerplant, while the open form tends to name the whole building or station.

Synonyms: power station, generating station, powerhouse