Reviver

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or object that restores vitality or enhances something previously dormant or inactive
2. An agent that reanimates, revitalizes, or renews elements of life or interest in various situations
3. Someone who restores life or energy to a person, thing, or situation that had faded or diminished

Etymology: The word is a plain English formation: "revive" with the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who does the action. The verb "revive" came into English from Latin "revivere," meaning "to live again," built from "re-" (again) and "vivere" (to live). So a reviver is literally one who brings something back to life. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the verb. The "-er" ending descends from a very old Germanic pattern, traceable through Old English "-ere" and Middle English "-ere" and "-er," which was used to name people by their activity. Its ancestors also run back through Latin "-arius," which passed into Old French as "-ier," and the English ending absorbed that line too. Many English job names, such as "baker" and "writer," were built this way.

Synonyms: restorer, resurrector, revitalizer, rejuvenator, revivalist