detector (n.)

1540s, "one who detects," from Latin detector "uncoverer, revealer," agent noun from detectus, past participle of detegere "to uncover, expose," figuratively "discover, reveal, disclose" (see detect). From 1833 as "instrument or device for indicating the presence or state of a thing," originally an arrangement in a lock supposed to indicate attempts to tamper with it.

updated on August 04, 2018