inflator
/ˌɪnˈfleɪtə/in-FLAY-tur
/ˌɪnˈfleɪtɚ/in-FLAY-tur
Meaningone that blows in
Common meaning: a person or thing that inflates
- inin, into; (before adjectives) not
- flato blowLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 759 · scan
- tverb or noun ending (part of the Latin stem)
- oragent ending: the doer, or the device that does it
‘in, into’ + ‘to blow’ → inflator
Journey through time
- Latinflō, flāvī, flātum‘to blow’
- Englishinflate‘to fill with air’
- Englishformed in English from inflateinflator‘a person or thing that inflates’ · 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: one that blows in. It can be inferred from any of: inflate.
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 inflate + -or (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- flō, flāvī, flātum Latin “to blow”
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