transistor

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A small electronic part used in devices to control or boost electrical signals.

   Modern computer chips contain billions of tiny transistors.

2. 2
   noun

   A small portable radio.

   My grandfather still listens to the news on his old transistor.

Blend of transfer + resistor. Said to have been coined by American engineer John Robinson Pierce in 1947, who used transresistance as the basis for forming transistor.

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