accumulator
UK[əˈkjuːmjəleɪtə(r)]US[əˈkjumjəˌleɪtər]
n
A person or thing that accumulates something.
n
A register in a computer processor that stores intermediate results of arithmetic and logic operations.
n
(British) A rechargeable electric battery.
Morpheme Breakdown
ac
cumul
ator
ac
to, towards
cumul
heap
ator
agent suffix
Etymology
The word 'accumulator' is built from Latin components. The prefix 'ad-' (to, towards) was assimilated to 'ac-' before the root 'cumul-', derived from 'cumulus' meaning a heap or pile. The suffix '-ator' forms an agent noun. Thus, the literal sense is "a thing that heaps things towards itself." This core idea of gathering and storing persists in its modern meanings, from a person who collects items, to a battery that stores electrical charge, to a key computer component that temporarily stores and aggregates numerical data.
Analysis
Structure: ac (to, towards) + cumul (heap) + ator (agent suffix)
- ac: Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to, towards', assimilated before 'c'.
- cumul: From Latin 'cumulus', meaning 'a heap, pile, mass'.
- ator: Latin agent noun suffix '-ator', indicating a person or thing that performs an action.
Examples
He was a compulsive accumulator of vintage comic books.
The arithmetic logic unit uses the accumulator for temporary storage during calculations.
The old car needed a new accumulator to start reliably.