Etymology
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resistor (n.)

late 14c., resistour, resister, "one who resists or hinders, one who prevents something from happening;" 1580s, "that which resists;" agent noun in Latin form from resist. In 19c., at least in U.S., resister seems to be the more usual spelling, and was used even in the science of electricity from 1759, though since c. 1900 that device has been a resistor and resister tends to refer to "person who resists" in some way.

Entries linking to resistor

resist (v.)

late 14c., resisten, of persons, "withstand (someone), oppose;" of things, "stop or hinder (a moving body);" from Old French resister "hold out against" (14c.) and directly from Latin resistere "to make a stand against, oppose; to stand back; withstand," from re- "against" (see re-) + sistere "take a stand, stand firm" (from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm"). Of attacks, invasions, etc., 1530s. Related: Resisted; resisting.

resister (n.)

"one who or that which opposes or withstands;" see resistor. In modern use this seems to more usual spelling in reference to persons rather than devices.

transistor (n.)
small electronic device, 1948, from transfer + resistor, so called because it transfers an electrical current across a resistor. Said to have been coined by U.S. electrical engineer John Robinson Pierce (1910-2002) of Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J., where the device was invented in 1947. It took over many functions of the vacuum tube. Transistor radio is first recorded 1958.

updated on July 20, 2021

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Definitions of resistor from WordNet

resistor (n.)
an electrical device that resists the flow of electrical current;
Synonyms: resistance
From wordnet.princeton.edu, not affiliated with etymonline.

Dictionary entries near resistor

resistance

resistant

resister

resistible

resistless

resistor

resoluble

resolute

resolution

resolvable

resolve

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