-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.

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noun

bumper

BUM-per/ˈbʌmpər/

A protective bar at the front or rear of a vehicle.

The car's bumper has a dent from the parking-lot collision.

Close three-quarter view of a vehicle's exposed front bumper pressing against a low concrete bollard: the metal bar is locally dented while the headlights, grille and body behind it remain intact.

Etymology

bumpEnglishstrike heavily

+erEnglisha person or thing that does something

Bump supplies the collision idea, while -er names the device that takes the impact. This sense first referred to railway-car buffers before being applied to automobiles.

In context

Plainly Difficult5:30

rear bumper wasn't really designed to stop any significant impact and to add insult to injury the rear of the car was also meant to crumple

Scandal: Ford’s Deadly Pinto | Short Documentary

More examples

A sticker covered part of the rear bumper.
The truck damaged both bumpers in the crash.
She inspected the bumper before driving away.

Forms

bumper · bumpers