Recommender

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual or mechanism that identifies suitable options for others based on their preferences
2. A person or device that proposes choices tailored to an individual's tastes or needs
3. An agent or program that offers personalized suggestions by analyzing user preferences

Etymology: "Recommender" is a plain formation: the verb "recommend" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, meaning one who recommends. The suffix has a longer history than the verb it attaches to. The "-er" ending descends from Latin "-arius", which came into English through Old French "-ier" and Middle English "-er", and it was already in Old English as a native suffix of the same kind, so English speakers have been making agent nouns this way for centuries. The verb underneath is the older and more interesting piece. "Recommend" was borrowed from Latin "recommendare", meaning to commit to someone's care or to entrust, built from "re-" and "commendare" ("to commit"). Its sense of putting in a good word for someone grew out of that idea of entrusting a person to another's keeping.

Synonyms: endorser, advocate