generator

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ɡɛ.nɛˈraː.tɔr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [d͡ʒe.neˈraː.tor]^[1]

Forms

generātor m (genitive generātōris, feminine generātrīx); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from generō “to beget” with the agent suffix -tor, from genus “birth, race”.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero, whom he dates 81–43 BC, and Cicero uses it in his translation of Plato's Timaeus of those who could know their begetters.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a begetter, father, sire, a producer.^[2][5] Lewis & Short call it very rare.^[5]

British Medieval Latin used it for father, sire.^[7] It gave English generator in the 1640s, “person who begets or produces”; the sense of a machine is later.^[3]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[4][5]
• 1640s – English generator is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A begetter, father; a producer.^[2][5]

Word family

• generatorius

Related words

• generō
• genus
• generātiō
• English generator

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press