Dictionary

actuator en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈæk.tjuː.eɪ.tə(ɹ)/ (UK)
• /ˈæk.t͡ʃu.eɪ.tɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• [ˈæk.t͡ʃu.eɪ.ɾɚ] (Canada, General-American)
• [ˈæk.t͡ʃʉ.æɪ.ɾə(ɹ)] (Australia)
• /ˈæk.t͡ʃu.eɪ.tə(ɹ)/ (UK)
• /ˈæk.t͡ʃʉ.æɪ.tə(ɹ)/ (Australia)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin āctus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin āctuō Medieval Latin āctuātusder. English actuate Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin -ātor Old French -eorbor. Middle English -our ▲ Latin -torlbor. English -or English actuator From actuate + -or. First attested in 1652.

Meanings

1. Something that actuates something else.
   • […] and God is the Author and Actuator of nature, as well as of grace; […] 1652, Anthony Burgesse, Spiritual Refining: or a Treatise of Grace and Assurance, Section V, Sermon XLIII, page 264:
   • The mind is the actuator of the body.
2. A usually electric device that causes a mechanical device (i.e., a mechanism) to be switched on or off. For example; an electric motor that opens and closes a valve.
3. The mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive.
4. A relay that controls the flow of electricity.

Forms

Deriveds

bioactuator · nanoactuator · piezoactuator · microactuator · thermoactuator · vibroactuator · multiactuator

Translations (17)

fi toimilaite (the mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive) · is armstjóri (the mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive) · it attuatore (a relay that controls the flow of electricity) · it ripetitore (a relay that controls the flow of electricity) · fr actionneur (device that causes a mechanical device to be switched on or off) · de Aktor (something that actuates something else) · fi toimilaite (device that causes a mechanical device to be switched on or off) · de Aktor (device that causes a mechanical device to be switched on or off) · fi aktuaattori (a relay that controls the flow of electricity) · de Aktuator (device that causes a mechanical device to be switched on or off) · fr actionneur (something that actuates something else) · fi kannustaja (something that actuates something else) · fi liikuttaja (something that actuates something else) · pt atuador (the mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive) · fi käyttölaite (device that causes a mechanical device to be switched on or off) · fi aktuaattori (the mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive) · de Aktuator (something that actuates something else)