receptor

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /rɪˈsɛptɚ/ UK /rɪˈsɛptə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a cell or molecule that detects a stimulus and responds to it

The drug binds to a receptor on the neuron's surface.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a cell or molecule that... detectorsensorreceiver

Word family

Related forms receive reception receptive receptacle

Etymology

From Latin receptor ('one who receives'), from receptus, past participle of recipere ('to receive'), from re- ('back') + capere ('to take').

receptor Latin capere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# receptor

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈsɛptɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈsɛptə/

## Meanings
1. a cell or molecule that detects a stimulus and responds to it

## Examples
- The drug binds to a receptor on the neuron's surface.

## Synonyms
- detector
- sensor
- receiver

## Related Forms
- receive
- reception
- receptive
- receptacle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: receptor
- Root: capere

## Etymology
From Latin receptor ('one who receives'), from receptus, past participle of recipere ('to receive'), from re- ('back') + capere ('to take').

## AI Etymology
Receptor comes from Latin receptor ('one who receives'), from receptus, past participle of recipere ('to receive'), from re- ('back') + capere ('to take'). The historical chain includes Latin receptor and Latin capere. Older glosses in the chain include "one who receives", "to receive", "back", and "to take", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, receptor is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "a cell or molecule that detects a stimulus and responds to it". related forms include receive, reception, receptive, and receptacle. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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