Administrator

How to spell administrator

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce administrator

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does administrator mean?

1. nounA person responsible for managing the affairs, operations, or records of an organisation, system, or estate.

Administrator in a sentence

• The network administrator reset every password after the breach.

• The hospital administrator approved the new staffing budget.

Where does administrator come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin administrare, meaning 'to manage, direct, or serve', which was built from ad- 'to' and ministrare 'to serve or attend'. The root minister literally described a servant or attendant, and it traces back to minus, meaning 'less', so a minister was originally the 'lesser' figure who served a superior. From administrare Latin formed administrator, the agent noun for one who manages affairs. English took the word up in the late Middle Ages, partly through Old French and partly straight from Latin, first in legal and church contexts for someone entrusted to manage an estate or office. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the unstressed 'min' is easy to slur, and the ending is the Latin agent suffix '-ator', not the more familiar English '-er'.

How the word is built

• ad- (to)
• minister (one who serves, from minus 'less')
• -ator (agent noun suffix)