Converter

How to spell converter

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce converter

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does converter mean?

1. nounA device or piece of equipment that changes something from one form, signal, or currency into another.

Converter in a sentence

• The catalytic converter on the old car needed replacing.

• He plugged a small converter into the socket to charge his laptop abroad.

Where does converter come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb convertere, meaning 'to turn around' or 'to turn completely', formed from con- (here an intensifier meaning 'together' or 'wholly') and vertere (to turn). The verb passed into English through Old French convertir during the medieval period, and the agent form 'converter' was built later by adding the English suffix -er to mean 'something or someone that converts'. The very same vertere root turns up in a whole family of relatives: 'reverse', 'divert', 'vertigo' and 'versus' all share that sense of turning. The modern noun covers both people (a religious convert-maker) and machines (a device that turns one form of energy, signal, or currency into another). The spelling trap is the ending: although you will occasionally see 'convertor', the standard form keeps the agent suffix -er, matching the verb 'convert'.

How the word is built

• con- (together, completely)
• vert (turn)
• -er (agent/instrument suffix)