duplicator
UK[ˈdjuːplɪkeɪtə]US[ˈduːplɪkeɪtər]
n
a machine that makes copies of documents, especially by a photographic or electronic process.
Morpheme Breakdown
duplic
ator
duplic
double
ator
agent suffix
Etymology
The word 'duplicator' is a modern English formation built directly on the Latin root. The core element 'duplic-' originates from the Latin duplex, meaning 'twofold' or 'double', which itself derives from duo- ('two') and the root plek- ('to fold') from Proto-Indo-European. The suffix '-ator' is a productive agentive suffix in English, borrowed from Latin, used to form nouns denoting a person or device that performs the action of the verb (here, 'duplicate'). Thus, a duplicator is literally 'a thing that makes something double or twofold', logically evolving to specify a machine that produces multiple identical copies from an original.
Analysis
Structure: duplic (double) + ator (agent suffix)
duplic (from Latin duplic-, meaning 'twofold, double'); ator (from Latin agent noun suffix -ator, meaning 'one who or that which performs an action').
Examples
The office's old mimeograph duplicator was replaced by a modern photocopier.
Before digital printing, schools often used spirit duplicators to create worksheets.
The device functions as both a scanner and a document duplicator.