Where does “transistor” come from?
transistor (French) comes from English transistor, from English resistor, from English ‐or, from Middle English -our, from Old French -eor, from Latin -ator, from Latin -tor, from Proto-Italic -tōr.
transistor (French): transistor; transistor radio
Definitions
- transistor; transistor radio
Ancestry of “transistor”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | transistor | A solid-state semiconductor device, with three... |
| 2 | English | resistor | One who resists, especially a person who fights... |
| 3 | English | ‐or | Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed |
| 4 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 5 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 6 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |