Recognizer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An entity that identifies or acknowledges a person, object, or pattern by recognizing distinguishing features
2. A device or individual that confirms identity by detecting specific characteristics
3. One who or that which recognizes and verifies the presence or identity of something based on known criteria

Etymology: The word is a straightforward formation: "recognize" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, so it names a person or thing that does the recognizing. The verb itself came into English through Old French "reconoistre" from Latin "recognoscere", literally "to know again," built from "re-" (again) and "cognoscere" (to know). The "-er" ending is older and comes via Old English "-ere," which itself descends from Latin "-arius" through Old French "-ier," a suffix that marked a worker or agent. Because the suffix is productive, English speakers could attach it to almost any verb, so "recognizer" is a transparent coinage rather than something inherited whole. Its meaning follows the verb's sense of identifying something again, having met it before, and the noun names whatever carries out that act, whether a person or a device.

Synonyms: identifier, detector, acknowledger, apprehender, discerner