communicator

English

Etymology

From communicate +‎ -or, after Latin commūnicātor (“partner, sharer, participant”); compare Middle French communicateur (“sharer, participant”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪtə/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /kəˈmjunɪkeɪtɚ/, [kəˈmjunɪkeɪɾɚ]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /kəˈmjʉːnɪkæɪtə/

Noun

communicator (plural communicators)

1. Someone who, or something that communicates.

   We'll let Nick give the presentation next week: he's a good communicator.

2. Any of several electronic devices that allow people with various disabilities to communicate via displays or artificial speech.
3. (science fiction) A usually portable communications device.
   • 1934 August, Edward Elmer Smith, “Skylark of Valeron”, in Astounding Stories, volume 13, number 6:

     ‘Observation Officer of the Z12Q, attention!’ snapped from the tight-beam headquarters communicator. ‘Cut off those spy rays and report yourself under arrest for treason!’

   • 1968 January 12, David P. Harmon, Gene L. Coon, A Piece of the Action (Star Trek), season 2, episode 17, spoken by Spock (Leonard Nimoy):

     Captain, if the Iotians, who are very bright an imitative people, should take that communicator apart...

Synonyms

• (science fiction device): commlink

Derived terms

• agitate the communicator
• e-communicator
• intercommunicator
• minicom
• telecommunicator

Translations

one who communicates

• Czech: komunikátor (cs) m
• French: communicateur (fr) m, communicatrice (fr) f
• German: Mitteilende m or f
• Korean: 전달자 (jeondalja)
• Spanish: comunicador (es) m, comunicadora (es) f

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [kɔm.muː.nɪˈkaː.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [kom.mu.niˈkaː.tor]

Verb

commūnicātor

1. second/third-person singular future passive imperative of commūnicō

References

• “communicator”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “communicator”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.