-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

tranquilizer

TRANG-kwuh-lye-zer/ˈtræŋkwəˌlaɪzər/

A drug that calms a person or animal.

The delivered tranquilizer leaves the rhinoceros resting quietly beside the dart.

A tranquilizer dart beside a rhinoceros resting quietly with a matching dart lodged superficially in its muscular hindquarter, making the drug-delivery object and its calming effect visible together.

Etymology

tranquilEnglishcalm, quiet

+izEnglishmake, become, or treat in a particular way

+erEnglisha person or thing that does something

A tranquilizer is literally someone or something that makes calm. The word narrowed from this general calming role to a sedative substance and then to anti-anxiety drugs.

In context

John Prior20:25

young moose cow decided not to come home to the farm, a special expedition is organized using a direction-finding receiver. We find her with the radio transmitter tag, inject a tranquilizer using a crossbow

The Best Moose Documentary EVER.

More examples

Several tranquilizers were compared.
She asked about the prescribed tranquilizer.
The report identified the tranquilizer.

Forms

tranquilizer · tranquilizers

Similar words

sedative: Promotes calm or sleep, with overlapping but not identical uses.
anesthetic: Blocks sensation rather than simply calming.