reciprocatorn.
/rᵻˈsɪprəkeɪtə/, U.S. /rəˈsɪprəˌkeɪdər/, /riˈsɪprəˌkeɪdər/ 1. Mechanics. A reciprocating engine forming part of a composite power plant. In later use also more widely: any machine with a reciprocating part or parts.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > other types of engine > [noun] > other specific engines
ballast engine?1748
reciprocator1769
bellows-engine1834
jack engine1847
power producer1859
trunk-engine1864
naphtha engine1876
jinny1877
barring engine1885
shifter1904
yarder1911
mill1918
rocket1919
booster1944
monobloc1944
1769 J. Watt Let. 28 Apr. in S. Smiles Lives Boulton & Watt (1854) x. 189 I wish Mr. Boulton and you [sc. W. Small] had entered into some negotiation with the Doctor about coming in as partners... His expectations are solely from the Reciprocator.
1855 N. Brit. Rev. May 206 A new canal was projected at Birmingham, in which the water to supply the locks was to be raised by fire engines, and Mr. Watt was urged to have his reciprocator ready for that purpose.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 16 Sept. 4/1 Not an ounce of steam will be wasted, the principle being to carry the exhaust steam from the high-pressure reciprocators to the low-pressure turbines.
1931 Times Trade & Engin. Suppl. 24 Jan. p. iv/3 The exhaust steam from the reciprocator is led to a turbo generator which delivers its current to a motor on the propeller shafting.
1952 W. J. Fox & S. C. McBirnie Marine Steam Engines & Turbines xi. 197 Only the reciprocator is used while entering or leaving port.
1990 Org. Gardening Nov. 62/3 Wielding a slightly smaller blade than its gas-powered brother, the Electric Reciprocator has a unique scissor-like action that easily cuts through tall grass.
2005 Internat. Jrnl. Machine Tools & Manuf. 45 1088/1 The to- and fro- motion would be continued by virtue of the reciprocator.
2. A person who or thing which reciprocates.In quot. 1813: a well which ebbs and flows.
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the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > [noun] > one who
reciprocator1813
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > relationship between quantities > other
finite difference1807
inverse1837
reciprocator1874
power law1919
recursive relation1934
1813 Jrnl. Nat. Philos. July 186 It is not improbable but future observations will add Pliny's Well to the class of irregular reciprocators.
1856 C. Mayne Madeline Clare III. xiv. 154 The despair that falls on the heart and life of such, when the sole reciprocator of their intensest feelings..is snatched from them.
1874 Sylvester in Proc. Royal Inst. 7 184 The numbers denoting the two were always inverse or reciprocal to each other... Hence a Peaucellier's cell may be conveniently termed a Reciprocator or Inverter.
1937 Indiana (Pa.) Evening Gaz. 16 Dec. 15/2 The closing of eyes by the feminine recipient, or reciprocator, depends mostly on the emotional feeling which the scene is supposed to convey.
1967 Jrnl. Marriage & Family 29 204/2 Children have been perceived as recipients rather than as reciprocators of parental functions.
2004 D. Krebs & M. Janicki in M. Schaller & C. S. Crandall Psychol. Found. Culture ii. vi. 135 A selfish individual interacting with a reciprocator may come out ahead by taking without giving in return.
2006 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. (Nexis) 24 Nov. w3 Brianna plays Esther Jane, the object and reciprocator of Ralphie's affections.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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