Receiver

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹəˈsi.vɚ/

Definitions

1. A person or device that accepts, collects, or is given something from another source
2. An individual or apparatus that obtains, gathers, or is presented with something from an external provider
3. A person or mechanism responsible for receiving or taking in items, data, or communication from others

Etymology: The word "receiver" carries a spelling that was once different from the one we use now. Its earliest English form was "receyvour" in Middle English, borrowed from the Anglo-Norman "receverre" and related forms. For centuries the word was spelled in ways that followed French rather than Latin, and the spelling we know only emerged later, when English writers reshaped it to match the verb "receive". That reshaping is the most telling part of the story. The noun did not come straight from the verb as its English form now suggests. Instead, a French-influenced noun for a person who takes in or collects money and goods existed first, and English speakers later adjusted its spelling so it looked like "receive" plus the agent ending "-er".

Synonyms: recipient, acceptor

Antonyms: sender