initiator
noun
Forms initiators
- noun One who initiates.
- noun (chemistry) A substance that initiates a chain reaction or polymerization.
- noun (military) A component of a nuclear weapon that produces a burst of neutrons to start the chain reaction.
- noun (computing) A task (in a mainframe computer) that initiates multiple jobs.
- noun (medicine) A material whose presence in the body eventually leads to cancer.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin initiātor. By surface analysis, initiate + or.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who initiates.
Etymology [L.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “initiator”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details