Thrower

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who propels or tosses an object through the air using their hand or arm
2. Someone who launches or hurls items from one place to another by force
3. An individual who casts or pitches an object, often as part of a sport or activity

Etymology: "Thrower" is about as transparent as English words get: it is the verb "throw" with the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who performs the action. The suffix came into English from Old English "-ere," and the pairing of a verb with "-er" to name a doer is one of the language's oldest and most productive patterns, so "thrower" simply means one who throws. The verb "throw" has a more surprising past than its noun partner. In Old English, "thrawan" meant to twist or turn, and it could describe bending or whirling something, not flinging it. The sense of hurling an object through the air developed later in Middle English, so the modern meaning of "throw" is a narrowing and redirection of an older idea of turning and twisting.

Synonyms: caster, projector, hurling

Antonyms: catcher, receiver