Etymologically
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projector

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /pɹəˈd͡ʒɛktə/[1]
  • US: /pɹəˈd͡ʒɛktɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English project + -or,[2][3][4][5] partly after Medieval Latin projector (“one who throws, one who throws away”), recorded in British sources from before 1215,[3] from prōiciō (“to throw forth”).[3] Etymonline calls it an agent noun in Latin form from the verb.[6] The verb project is from Late Latin prōiectō (“to thrust forward”), from prōiectus, the past participle of prōiciō, which is formed from prō- (“forward”) and iaciō (“to throw”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who forms a project or plans an enterprise: 1596, in a letter of the Earl of Essex.[3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The planner soon became a schemer: from 1615 the word was used of a promoter of unsound ventures or a swindler,[3] and Johnson (1755) gave "one who forms wild impracticable schemes" as its second sense.[7] That use is now archaic.[3][2] From 1674 the word also meant a person or thing that throws something forward, later a device for firing projectiles.[3] From 1832 it also meant a forecaster.[3] The modern technical senses began with an apparatus throwing a strong beam of light (1860)[3] and an apparatus throwing an enlarged image onto a screen, first recorded before 1884;[3] Etymonline dates the image sense to 1884.[6]

Timeline

  • 1596 – a person who forms a project.[3][4]
  • 1615 – a schemer, a promoter of unsound ventures.[3]
  • 1674 – a person or thing that throws something forward.[3]
  • 1832 – a forecaster.[3]
  • 1860 – an apparatus for projecting a beam of light.[3]
  • before 1884 – an apparatus for projecting images onto a screen.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An optical device that throws an enlarged image from a slide, film or video source onto a screen: The teacher dimmed the lights and switched on the projector.[8][4][3]
  2. A device that projects a beam of light, such as a searchlight.[8][4][3]
  3. A device for firing or throwing a projectile.[3][2]
  4. A person who plans a project or enterprise.[8][4][3]
  5. (archaic) A schemer who promotes doubtful ventures; a swindler.[3][2][4]

Word family

  • overhead projector

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins