the word 'tuner' is a modern english formation built upon the older word 'tune'. 'tune' itself entered english from latin tonus (via old french ton), which means "sound" or "tone," and can be traced further back to greek tonos meaning "string, sound, pitch." the agent suffix '-er,' of germanic origin, is one of the most productive in english, used to denote someone who performs an action or a device that enables an action. therefore, a 'tuner' literally means "one who or that which tunes," logically evolving from the concrete act of adjusting musical pitch to the technical function of selecting electronic signals.

Structure: tune + er tune (from Latin tonus, meaning "sound, tone, pitch") + er (from Old English -ere, an agent noun suffix indicating a person or thing that performs an action).