FEEDER


Meaning of FEEDER in English

I. ˈfēdə(r) noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English feder, federe, from feden to feed + -er, -ere -er — more at feed I

1. : one that gives or provides food or nourishment: as

a. : one that fattens cattle for slaughter

b. : a device or apparatus for supplying food (as to an animal)

an automatic poultry feeder

a calf feeder

c. : a normal pigeon used as a foster parent for the young of short-beaked pigeons

2. : one that eats or is notable for eating

the man was a prodigious feeder

as

a. obsolete : one dependent on another for food (as a servant)

b. : an animal being fattened or one suitable for fattening — compare stocker

3. : one that ministers (as to another's welfare, mind, or passions): as

a. : one that incites

the feeder of … riots — Shakespeare

b. archaic : an academic tutor or crammer

4.

a. : one that feeds material into or through a machine or device that operates upon it or consumes it: as

(1) : a device that supplies crushed stone to a conveyor

(2) : a device for supplying coal automatically to a furnace

(3) : a worker who charges lead ore and other substances into a blast furnace

(4) : a worker who feeds aluminum sheets into a rolling mill

b. : a strong discharge of gas from a fissure in a mine

c. : feedhead

5. : a small lateral lode connecting with the main lode of a mine

6.

a. : one that replenishes or connects with and supplies something : a source of supply for the maintenance or effectiveness of something else of the same general kind

farm baseball teams that act as feeders for the major-league teams

it was thought that Broadway had become a feeder for Hollywood

b. : tributary

c. or feeder line : a branch transportation line: as

(1) also feeder airline : a local-service airline connecting smaller communities with larger terminal cities and trunk lines

(2) : a local bus line that runs into a terminal used by a trunk line

d.

(1) : a heavy wire conductor supplying electricity at some point of any system of electric distribution (as from a substation to a distribution point)

(2) : a conductor connecting a major unit of a radio transmitting or receiving apparatus with another ; especially : the line from the aerial to the receiver or transmitter

e. : feeder road

7.

a. : a part in a play designed as a foil for one more important

b. : an actor playing such a part : one who feeds a fellow actor

8. : an assorter in a garment factory

9. chiefly Britain : a baby's bib

II. adjective

1. : being, acting, or serving as a feeder

a feeder root

a feeder device

feeder air service

a feeder belt

a feeder cable

a feeder farmer

2. : suitable for fattening

feeder cattle

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.