alternator
/ˈɔːltəˌneɪtə/AWL-tur-nay-tur
/ˈɔltɚˌneɪtɚ/AWL-tur-nay-tur
Meaninga person or thing that alternates
Common meaning: a person or thing that alternates (inferred)
- alternthe other of twoLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 97 · scan
- atverb or adjective ending: to make, having
- oragent ending: the doer, or the device that does it
Journey through time
- Latinalter‘the other of two’
- Englishalternate‘to take turns’
- Englishformed in English from alternatealternator‘a person or thing that alternates (inferred)’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: a person or thing that alternates. It can be inferred from any of: alternate.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from alternate + -or (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- alter Latin “the other of two”
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app