rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: -er
English

-er

a person or thing that does something

Forms

  • -er
  • -r — Used after some bases ending in e.

Origin

Old English -ere, generally traced through Germanic to Latin -arius.

Note

It can name a tool as readily as a person. The comparison ending in taller has a different history.

112 / 113
noun

writer

A device or program that records data.

The disk writer records the backup data.

Etymology
writOld Englishto scratch, draw, or write
+erEnglisha person or thing that does something

The agent ending names something that writes. Computing assigns that role to a device or program that records data on a storage medium.

More examples

  • The program includes a file writer.
  • Several writers tried to access the same resource.
  • The writer reported that recording was complete.

Forms

writer · writers

Similar words

recorder
A device or program that stores information.
burner
A device specifically used to write optical discs.