Promoter

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pɹəˈmoʊtɚ/

Definitions

1. A person who arranges or manages events, especially to attract public attention ; someone who actively supports or encourages a particular cause or project ; an individual or firm that starts and finances a new commercial enterprise
2. One who plans or facilitates activities such as concerts or sports matches ; a supporter who promotes and advances a specific idea or initiative ; an entrepreneur responsible for setting up and funding a business venture
3. An organizer responsible for publicizing and coordinating events ; an advocate who helps develop and push forward plans or campaigns ; a party that initiates a company or business endeavor by providing capital or leadership

Etymology: The word is built from "promote" plus the agent suffix "-er," but the verb underneath carries a surprisingly physical history. Latin "promovēre" meant "to move forward" or "to push onward," combining "prō-" (forward) with "movēre" (to move). The past participle "prōmōtus" gave English the verb "promote," which for centuries meant mainly to advance someone in rank or to raise a thing to a higher position, long before it came to mean publicizing a product. The noun carries that sense of pushing something forward. A promoter, in the older sense, was one who advanced a cause or a person, and the modern meanings, from event organizers to backers who launch a business, grow directly from that idea of moving something onward. The suffix "-er" was added to the verb in English, following the pattern that turns action verbs into words for the doer of the action.

Synonyms: advocate, sponsor, supporter, backer, champion

Antonyms: opponent, critic