Transmitter

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device that facilitates the sending of signals to another entity, referring to both electronic communications and the biological process of signaling between cells
2. An instrument that converts various types of information into a signal format, commonly utilized in the fields of telecommunications and broadcasting
3. A mechanism that enables the transfer of information through waves or signals, applicable in both electronic devices and biological communication systems

Etymology: The word is a straightforward English formation: "transmit" plus the agent suffix "-er," meaning one that performs the action. "Transmit" itself came into English from Latin "transmittere," literally "send across," built from "trans-" ("across") and "mittere" ("to send"). The same Latin verb gave English "mission," "missile" and "emit," so the word shares its core with a surprisingly large family of common terms. The suffix has a longer road. Its ancestor was the Latin "-arius," which passed into Old French as "-ier" and entered Middle English as "-er," a pattern that spread through English so widely that it now attaches to almost any verb. The device sense and the biological sense of the word both draw on the same basic idea of something that sends a signal onward.

Synonyms: sender, broadcaster, transducer, communicator, relay