averter

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person, power, or thing that prevents or turns away danger, harm, or another unwanted event

   In the hymn, the deity is praised as an averter of disease and famine.

Formed from avert + the agent suffix -er. Avert comes from Latin avertere ("turn away"), combining ab- ("away") + vertere ("turn"). Averter thus preserves the concrete image behind prevent: someone or something that turns a threatened evil aside.

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