digester
UK[daɪˈdʒɛstə]US[daɪˈdʒɛstər]
n
A container or apparatus in which substances are treated with heat, enzymes, or a solvent to promote decomposition or extract essential components.
n
A person or thing that digests something.
Morpheme Breakdown
digest
er
digest
to separate, divide, dissolve
er
Etymology
The word 'digester' is built upon the Latin verb digerere, which itself is a compound of dis- ('apart') and gerere ('to carry, bear'). This literal sense of 'carrying apart' evolved to mean 'to separate, dissolve, or arrange', which in medieval Latin medical contexts came to specifically denote the physiological process of breaking down food in the stomach. The English agent suffix -er was appended to create a noun for an entity that performs this action. Thus, the term logically progressed from its ancient roots describing physical separation to its modern technical applications, denoting either a person who digests or, more commonly, a machine that decomposes organic matter.
Analysis
Structure: digest + er
- digest: From Latin digestus, the past participle of digerere meaning 'to separate, divide, dissolve'. In this word, it functions as the verbal root meaning 'to break down'.
- er: From Old English -ere, an agent noun suffix indicating 'a person or thing that performs an action'.
Examples
The wastewater treatment plant uses an anaerobic digester to process sewage sludge.
Early chemists used a sealed vessel called a digester to extract gelatin from bones.
As a slow digester, he avoids heavy meals late at night.