I. kəˈlektə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English colector, collectour, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French collecteur, from Medieval Latin collector one who collects, from Latin collectus (past participle of colligere to bring together) + -or — more at collect
1. : an official who collects funds or moneys: as
a. : an officer commissioned to collect and receive revenues
b. Britain : one that collects parish alms
c. : the administrative head of a district in some provinces of British India
d. : one authorized to collect debts and accounts due: as
(1) : a clerk or agent who by telephone, correspondence, or personal visits attempts to collect delinquent accounts and sometimes cuts off service or repossesses merchandise if payment is not made
(2) : one that makes collection at regular intervals of installment payments or insurance premiums
e. : a messenger who acts as a bank's agent in presenting checks, drafts, and money orders to local banks for payment or acceptance
f. : one that collects money from coin boxes of public and private pay telephones and computes and pays a percentage refund to subscribers when cash exceeds the maximum guarantee
2. : one that makes a collection
a stamp collector
a collector of first editions
3. : an object or device that collects
the statuette was a fine dust collector
a collector lowered overboard to gather plankton specimens
4.
a. : a conductor maintaining contact between moving and stationary parts of an electric circuit (as one of the tinsel brushes on an induction machine or the third-rail shoe of an electric-railway car)
b. : a device (as an electrode) that collects moving electrons
c. : the output terminal of a transistor
5. in the flotation process of ore dressing : a chemical used to increase the floating capacity of a mineral
II. noun
: solar collector herein