Reactors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A mechanical or structural unit that enables chemical interactions to yield specific outcomes; a facility aimed at energy generation, especially through nuclear means; an installation where substances are purposefully altered through both chemical and nuclear reactions
2. A device designed to initiate or regulate chemical or nuclear transformations ; a structure built to produce power by harnessing nuclear fission or fusion
3. An apparatus that triggers or manages reactions in various processes ; a building or complex where nuclear energy is generated for use

Etymology: The word "reactor" is simply "react" plus the agent suffix "-or", which English took from Latin "-or" to name a thing or person that performs an action. "React" itself comes from the Latin "re-" meaning "back" or "again" combined with "agere", "to drive, do, act", so the two halves together mean something like "act back against". The sense of "reactor" as a device for controlling reactions is a later, technical development: the thing that does the reacting was a chemical or physical process first, and the apparatus was named for the process it housed. Latin "agere" also gave English "agent" and "action", so the same root sits behind a range of ordinary words.

Synonyms: nuclear reactors, chemical reactors