rotor

See also: Rotor and rötor

Languages (12)

English

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Czech • Dutch • French • Indonesian • Latin • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Serbo-Croatian • Spanish • Turkish

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Page categories

English

electrical rotors (sense 1)

disc brake rotors (sense 1.1)

helicopter rotor (sense 1.2)

Etymology

From an irregular clipping of rotator, originally in mathematics, coined by English mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford based on vector, see quotations. Doublet of rota and ruote.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹəʊ.tə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹoʊ.tɚ/
• (US, non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈɹoʊ.tə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (UK) -əʊtə
• Homophones: rota, Rota (non-rhotic); Rhoda (non-rhotic, flapping)

Noun

rotor (plural rotors)

2. A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. [from 1900s]
   • 2013 July-August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist‎^[1], archived from the original on 7 September 2013:

     Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.

   2. (automotive, cycling) In a disc brake, the metal disc attached to the wheel hub.
   4. (aviation) The wing of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft.
3. (meteorology) A type of powerful horizontal-axis atmospheric vortex generated by the interaction of strong winds with mountainous terrain.
   • 2001, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.7.1 Observations and Forecasts”, in Uncontrolled Descent and Collision With Terrain, United Airlines Flight 585, Boeing 737-200, N999UA, 4 Miles South of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 3, 1991‎^[2], archived from the original on 22 January 2021, pages 30–31:

     A glider instructor, who had been in the COS area for more than 25 years, was interviewed. He stated that around 1200 on the day of the accident, he observed a rotor hit the ground with estimated wind speeds of 70 to 80 miles per hour.

5. (mathematics, algebra) A quantity having magnitude, direction, and position.

   Coordinate term: vector

   • 1878, William Kingdon Clifford, “Applications of Grassmann's Extensive Algebra”, in American Journal of Mathematics, volume 1, number 4, →DOI, →ISSN, page 353:

     These quantities are unit lengths measured anywhere on the axes in the positive directions. They have magnitude, direction, and position, and are thus what I have called rotors (short for rotators) to distinguish them from vectors, which have magnitude and direction but no position.

6. (cellular automata) The set of cells within an oscillator that switch between being alive and dead over the course of the oscillator's period.
   • 1997 November 30, David Bell, “Day & Night - An Interesting Variant of Life (part 2/5)”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[3] (Usenet):

     The following figure shows examples of the most versatile class of these oscillators. The first emulates the p10 shown above; the second has period 62 and a rotor of size 10.

   • 1998 March 18, Gunnar Johnsson, “Genetic aspects of the Game of Life.”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[4] (Usenet):

     The problem of determining the asymptotic colouring for a cyclic pattern from a given initial black and white pattern is completely solved. The analysis leads to the proposal of the distinction between primary and secondary rotor cells (i.e. a refinement of the classical stator-rotor distinction).

   • 2008 June 25, Dave Greene, “Life: B37/S23 - A Chaotic Universe.”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[5] (Usenet):

     In B37/S23, it goes symmetrical after 10 ticks, and produces a familiar pair of B-heptominoes after 23 ticks (the next generation after this can be found in the rotor of a standard B3/S23 p46 oscillator):

7. An amusement park and carnival ride consisting of a rotating cylindrical chamber in which centrifugal force adheres riders to the wall as the floor drops away, creating a sensation of defying gravity.

Hyponyms

• main rotor
• tail rotor
• wound rotor

Derived terms

• Flettner rotor
• hexarotor
• locked rotor amp
• mountain rotor
• multirotor
• open rotor
• proprotor
• quadrotor
• rotor brake
• rotor burst
• rotor cloud
• rotorcraft
• rotored
• rotor kite
• rotorless
• rotor machine
• rotor sail
• rotorstator
• tiltrotor

Related terms

• stator

Descendants

• → Czech: rotor
• → French: rotor
• → German: Rotor
• → Polish: rotor
• → Portuguese: rotor
• → Spanish: rotor

Translations

a rotating part of a mechanical device

• Arabic: عَمُود نَاقِل الْحَرَكَة m (ʕamūd nāqil al-ḥaraka)
• Basque: errotore (eu)
• Bulgarian: ротор m (rotor)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 轉子 / 转子 (zh) (zhuànzǐ)

• Czech: rotor (cs) m
• Finnish: roottori (fi), pyörijä
• French: rotor (fr) m
• German: Rotor (de) m
• Greek: δρομέας (el) m (droméas)
• Italian: rotore (it) m
• Japanese: ローター (ja) (rōtā), 回転子 (かいてんし, kaitenshi)
• Macedonian: ротор m (rotor)
• Māori: paetāwhirowhiro
• Norwegian: rotor m
• Polish: wirnik (pl) m, rotor (pl) m
• Portuguese: rotor m
• Romanian: rotor (ro) n
• Russian: ро́тор (ru) m (rótor)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ротор m

  Latin: rotor (sh) m

• Spanish: rotor (es) m
• Tagalog: painog
• Ukrainian: ро́тор (uk) m (rótor)

the wing of a helicopter or similar

• Bulgarian: ротор m (rotor), перка (bg) f (perka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 旋翼 (zh) (xuányì), 主旋翼 (zhǔ xuányì)

• Finnish: roottori (fi)
• German: Hauptrotor (de) m
• Italian: rotore (it) m, pala (it) f
• Polish: wirnik (pl) m, śmigło (pl) n
• Portuguese: hélice (pt) f
• Romanian: elice (ro) f
• Russian: ро́тор (ru) m (rótor), несу́щий винт m (nesúščij vint)
• Spanish: hélice (es) f

Further reading

• rotor (electric) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• helicopter rotor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• rotor (meteorology) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• rotor (mathematics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English rotor, ultimately from Latin rota.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈrotor]
• Rhymes: -otor

Noun

rotor m inan

1. rotor (rotating part of a mechanical device)

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Related terms

• rotace
• rotačka
• rotoped
• rotovat
• rotunda
• runda

Further reading

• “rotor”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “rotor”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “rotor”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rotor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈroː.tɔr/, /ˈroː.tər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ro‧tor
• Rhymes: -oːtɔr, -oːtər

Noun

rotor m (plural rotoren or rotors, diminutive rotortje n)

1. rotor

Derived terms

• rotoras
• rotorblad

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English rotor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁɔ.tɔʁ/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

rotor m (plural rotors)

1. rotor

Descendants

• → Romanian: rotor

Further reading

• “rotor”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Indonesian

Etymology

Internationalism

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈrotor/ [ˈro.t̪ɔr]
• Rhymes: -otor
• Syllabification: ro‧tor

Noun

rotor (plural rotor-rotor)

1. rotor
   1. (electromagnetism, mechanical engineering) a rotating part of a mechanical device

Derived terms

• rotor belakang
• rotor utama

Further reading

• “rotor”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Latin

Verb

rotor

1. first-person singular present passive indicative of rotō

References

• "rotor", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English rotor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɔ.tɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔtɔr
• Syllabification: ro‧tor

Noun

rotor m inan

1. rotor (rotating part of a mechanical device)

   Synonym: wirnik

2. rotor (propeller on a rotorcraft that provides lift)

   Synonym: wirnik

3. (meteorology) rotor (type of powerful horizontal-axis atmospheric vortex generated by the interaction of strong winds with mountainous terrain)

Declension

Declension of rotor

	singular	plural
nominative	rotor	rotory
genitive	rotora	rotorów
dative	rotorowi	rotorom
accusative	rotor	rotory
instrumental	rotorem	rotorami
locative	rotorze	rotorach
vocative	rotorze	rotory

Derived terms

adjective

• rotorowy

Further reading

• rotor in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English rotor.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁoˈtoʁ/ [hoˈtoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁoˈtoʁ/ [hoˈtoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ʁoˈtoɾ/ [hoˈtoɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁoˈtoʁ/ [χoˈtoχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ʁoˈtoɻ/ [hoˈtoɻ]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁuˈtoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁuˈtoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁuˈto.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: ro‧tor

Noun

rotor m (plural rotores)

1. rotor (a rotating part of a mechanical device)
2. rotor (central part of a helicopter’s wings)

Further reading

• “rotor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “rotor”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “rotor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French rotor, from English rotor.

Noun

rotor n (plural rotoare)

1. rotor

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	rotor	rotorul		rotoare	rotoarele
genitive-dative	rotor	rotorului		rotoare	rotoarelor
vocative	rotorule			rotoarelor

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rôːtor/
• Hyphenation: ro‧tor

Noun

rȏtor m inan (Cyrillic spelling ро̑тор)

1. rotor

Declension

Declension of rotor

	singular	plural
nominative	rotor	rotori
genitive	rotora	rotora
dative	rotoru	rotorima
accusative	rotor	rotore
vocative	rotoru / rotore	rotori
locative	rotoru	rotorima
instrumental	rotorom	rotorima

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English rotor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /roˈtoɾ/ [roˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: ro‧tor

Noun

rotor m (plural rotores)

1. rotor

Further reading

• “rotor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Turkish

Noun

rotor (definite accusative rotoru, plural rotorlar)

1. (aviation) rotor

Declension

Declension of rotor

singular plural nominative rotor rotorlar definite accusative rotoru rotorları dative rotora rotorlara locative rotorda rotorlarda ablative rotordan rotorlardan genitive rotorun rotorların Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular rotorum rotorlarım 2nd singular rotorun rotorların 3rd singular rotoru rotorları 1st plural rotorumuz rotorlarımız 2nd plural rotorunuz rotorlarınız 3rd plural rotorları rotorları definite accusative singular plural 1st singular rotorumu rotorlarımı 2nd singular rotorunu rotorlarını 3rd singular rotorunu rotorlarını 1st plural rotorumuzu rotorlarımızı 2nd plural rotorunuzu rotorlarınızı 3rd plural rotorlarını rotorlarını dative singular plural 1st singular rotoruma rotorlarıma 2nd singular rotoruna rotorlarına 3rd singular rotoruna rotorlarına 1st plural rotorumuza rotorlarımıza 2nd plural rotorunuza rotorlarınıza 3rd plural rotorlarına rotorlarına locative singular plural 1st singular rotorumda rotorlarımda 2nd singular rotorunda rotorlarında 3rd singular rotorunda rotorlarında 1st plural rotorumuzda rotorlarımızda 2nd plural rotorunuzda rotorlarınızda 3rd plural rotorlarında rotorlarında ablative singular plural 1st singular rotorumdan rotorlarımdan 2nd singular rotorundan rotorlarından 3rd singular rotorundan rotorlarından 1st plural rotorumuzdan rotorlarımızdan 2nd plural rotorunuzdan rotorlarınızdan 3rd plural rotorlarından rotorlarından genitive singular plural 1st singular rotorumun rotorlarımın 2nd singular rotorunun rotorlarının 3rd singular rotorunun rotorlarının 1st plural rotorumuzun rotorlarımızın 2nd plural rotorunuzun rotorlarınızın 3rd plural rotorlarının rotorlarının