calculator

English

An electronic calculator

Etymology

In the sense of a person, from Middle English calkelatour (“mathematician, astrologer”), borrowed from Latin calculātor, equivalent to calculate +‎ -or. The other meanings arose in Modern English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæl.kjə.leɪ.tə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kæl.kjə.leɪ.tɚ/, [ˈkʰæɫ.kjəˌleɪ̯.ɾɚ]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

calculator (plural calculators)

1. A mechanical or electronic device that performs mathematical calculations.
2. (dated) A person who performs mathematical calculation.
   • 2020, Paul Krugman, Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future, page 145:

     First, many real-world investors bear little resemblance to the cool calculators of efficient-market theory: they're all too subject to herd behavior, to bouts of irrational exuberance and unwarranted panic.

3. A person who calculates (in the sense of scheming).
   • 1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter X, in Alice or The Mysteries […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 92:

     Talk not thus, I implore you, Evelyn: do not imagine me the worldly calculator that my enemies deem me.

   • 1858, John Cumming, Thy Word is Truth: an apology for Christianity, page 112:

     You have in the merchant the shrewd calculator of probable contingencies; we shall see that we have in the prophet the absolute proclaimer of necessary and inevitable facts.

4. (obsolete) A set of mathematical tables.

Synonyms

• (electronic device): electronic calculator, pocket calculator; (puristic): handreckoner, scorer
• (mechanical device): adding machine
• (person who performs mathematical calculations): computer (dated)
• (person who schemes): plotter, schemer
• (mathematical tables): ready reckoner, tables

Derived terms

• calculatorlike
• electronic calculator
• graphing calculator
• minicalculator
• pocket calculator
• scientific calculator

 

Related terms

• calculate

Translations

electronic device that performs mathematical calculations

• Afrikaans: sakrekenaar
• Albanian: njehsues m, makinë llogaritëse f
• Amharic: ካልኩሌተር (kalkuletär)
• Arabic: حَاسِبَة f (ḥāsiba), آلَة حَاسِبَة f (ʔāla ḥāsiba), مِحْسَاب m (miḥsāb)
• Armenian: հաշվիչ (hy) (hašvičʻ)
• Assamese: কেলকুলেটৰ (kelkuletor)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܚܲܫܘܼܒ݂ܘܿܢܵܐ m (ḥašūḇōnā)
• Asturian: calculadora f
• Azerbaijani: kalkulyator
• Basque: kalkulagailu (eu)
• Belarusian: калькуля́тар m (kalʹkuljátar)
• Bengali: ক্যালকুলেটর (bn) (kêlkuleṭor)
• Bulgarian: калкула́тор m (kalkulátor)
• Burmese: ဂဏန်းတွက်စက် (my) (ga.nan:twakcak)
• Catalan: calculadora (ca) f
• Cheyenne: hoéstónéó'o
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 計數機／计数机 (gai³ sou³ gei¹)

  Mandarin: 計算器／计算器 (zh) (jìsuànqì), 電子計算器／电子计算器 (diànzǐ jìsuànqì), 電子計算機／电子计算机 (zh) (diànzǐ jìsuànjī) (Taiwan, HK)

• Czech: kalkulačka (cs) f, kalkulátor (cs) m, počítačka f
• Danish: lommeregner (da), regnemaskine c
• Dutch: rekenmachine (nl) f, zakrekenmachine (nl) f, rekentoestel n (Flemish), calculator (nl) m
• Erzya: ловомапель (lovomapeľ)
• Esperanto: kalkulilo
• Estonian: kalkulaator, taskuarvuti
• Faroese: telduhvølpur m, roknimaskina f
• Finnish: laskin (fi)
• French: calculatrice (fr) f, calculette (fr) f
• Fula:

  Adlam: 𞤳𞤭𞥅𞤥𞤭𞤪𞤺𞤢𞤤, 𞤼𞤮𞤲𞤺𞤭𞤪𞤣𞤫

  Roman: kiimirgal, tongirde

• Galician: calculadora f
• Georgian: კალკულატორი (ḳalḳulaṭori)
• German: Rechner (de) m, Taschenrechner (de) m
• Greek: αριθμομηχανή (el) f (arithmomichaní), (colloquial) κομπιουτεράκι (el) n (kompiouteráki)
• Guaraní: tembijepapa
• Gujarati: કેલ્ક્યુલેટર (kelkyuleṭar)
• Hawaiian: mīkini helu
• Hebrew: מַחְשְׁבוֹן (he) m (makhshevón)
• Hindi: परिकलक (pariklak), कैलकुलेटर m (kailkuleṭar), परिकलित्र m (pariklitra)
• Hungarian: számológép (hu)
• Icelandic: reiknivél f
• Ido: kalkulatoro
• Indonesian: kalkulator (id), mesin hitung (id)
• Irish: áireamhán m
• Italian: calcolatrice (it) f
• Japanese: 電卓 (ja) (でんたく, dentaku), 計算機 (ja) (けいさんき, keisanki)
• Kannada: ಲೆಕ್ಕರಣೆ (kn) (lekkaraṇe)
• Kazakh: калькулятор (kalkulätor)
• Khmer: គណិតចរ (kĕəʼnetaʼ cɑɑ), ម៉ាស៊ីនគិតលេខ (maasɨn kɨt leek)
• Korean: 계산기(計算機) (ko) (gyesan'gi)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: pêjimêrk, makîneya hesabê (ku)

• Kyrgyz: калькулятор (ky) (kalkulyator)
• Lao: ຈັກຄິດໄລ່ (chak khit lai), ເຄື່ອງຄິດເລກ (khư̄ang khit lēk)
• Latvian: kalkulators m
• Lithuanian: kalkuliatorius (lt) m, skaičiuotuvas (lt) m
• Low German:

  Dutch Low Saxon: telmesiene, rekkenmesiene

• Macedonian: сметач m (smetač), дигитро́н m (digitrón), калкула́тор m (kalkulátor)
• Malagasy: mpikajy
• Malay: mesin kira, kalkulator
• Malayalam: കാൽക്കുലേറ്റർ (kālkkulēṟṟaṟ)
• Maltese: kalkulatur m, maqjes m
• Manx: co-earrooder m
• Marathi: गणनयंत्र (gaṇanyantra), कॅल्क्युलेटर (kĕlkyuleṭar)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: тооны машин (toony mašin)

• Norman: caltchuleux m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kalkulator (no) m

  Nynorsk: kalkulator (no) m

• Odia: କାଲକୁଲେଟର (kālakuleṭara)
• Pali: saṅkhyāna n
• Pashto: شمېرماشين m (šmermāšin)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: ماشینِ حِساب (fa) (mâšin-e hesâb), حِسابْگَر (fa) (hesâbgar)

• Polish: kalkulator (pl) m
• Portuguese: calculadora (pt) f
• Romanian: calculator (ro), computer (ro) n
• Romansch: calculader m, calculatur m, calculatour m, quintader m, chintader m
• Russian: калькуля́тор (ru) m (kalʹkuljátor)
• Sanskrit: गणकयन्त्रम् (gaṇakayantram)
• Scottish Gaelic: àireamhair m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: рачу̀на̄р m (Bosnian, Serbian), рачу̀нало n (Croatian)

  Roman: račùnār (sh) m (Bosnian, Serbian), račùnalo (sh) n (Croatian)

• Slovak: kalkulačka f
• Slovene: kalkulator m, računalo
• Spanish: calculador (es) m or f, calculadora (es) f
• Swahili: kikokotozi
• Swedish: räknare (sv) c, miniräknare (sv) c, kalkylator (sv) c
• Tagalog: pantaya, kalkulador
• Tajik: мошини ҳисоб (mošin-i hisob), ҳисобгар (hisobgar), ҳисобкунак (hisobkunak)
• Tamil: கணிப்பான் (ta) (kaṇippāṉ)
• Telugu: గణికుడు (te) (gaṇikuḍu)
• Thai: เครื่องคิดเลข (th) (krʉ̂ʉang-kít-lêek)
• Tigrinya: መተሓሳሰቢ (mätäḥasasäbi)
• Turkish: hesap makinesi (tr)
• Turkmen: kalkulýator
• Udmurt: лыдъянтык (lydjantyk)
• Ukrainian: калькуля́тор m (kalʹkuljátor)
• Urdu: کَیلْکُولیٹَر m (kailkūleṭar), حِسابْگَر m (hisābgar)
• Uyghur: ھېسابلىغۇچ (hësablighuch)
• Uzbek: kalkulyator (uz)
• Vietnamese: máy tính cầm tay
• Welsh: cyfrifiannell (cy) f
• West Frisian: rekkenmasine, bûsrekkenmasine
• Yiddish: קאַלקולאַטאָר m (kalkulator)

mechanical device that performs mathematical calculations

• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܚܲܫܘܼܒ݂ܘܿܢܵܐ m (ḥašūḇōnā)
• Bulgarian: смета́чна маши́на f (smetáčna mašína)
• Catalan: calculadora (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 計算器／计算器 (zh) (jìsuànqì), 計算機／计算机 (zh) (jìsuànjī)

• Dutch: rekenmachine (nl) f, calculator (nl) m
• Finnish: laskin (fi), laskukone (fi)
• Galician: calculadora f
• Greek: αριθμομηχανή (el) f (arithmomichaní)
• Guaraní: tembijepapa, tembijepapa
• Hebrew: מונה m (mone)
• Hungarian: számológép (hu)
• Ido: kalkulilo (io)
• Indonesian: kalkulator (id)
• Italian: calcolatrice (it)
• Macedonian: сметач m (smetač)
• Polish: kalkulator (pl) m
• Portuguese: calculadora (pt) f
• Romanian: calculator (ro), mașină de calculat
• Russian: вычисли́тельная маши́на f (vyčislítelʹnaja mašína), счётная маши́на f (sčótnaja mašína), арифмо́метр (ru) m (arifmómetr)
• Vietnamese: máy tính cơ khí, máy tính tương tự, dụng cụ tính toán

dated: a person who performs mathematical calculations

• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܲܚܫܒ݂ܵܢܵܐ m (maḥšḇānā), ܡܲܚܫܒ݂ܵܢܝܼܬܵܐ f (maḥšḇānītā), ܚܲܫܒܢܵܢܵܐ m (ḥašbnānā)
• Bulgarian: изчисли́тел m (izčislítel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 計算者／计算者 (jìsuànzhě)

• Dutch: berekenaar (nl) m
• Finnish: laskija (fi)
• Galician: calculador m
• Hebrew: חשבונאי m (kheshbona'y), חשבונאית f (kheshbona'yt)
• Hindi: परिकलक m (pariklak)
• Indonesian: penghitung
• Italian: calcolatore (it) m, calcolatrice (it) f
• Japanese: 計算者 (けいさんしゃ, keisansha)
• Khmer: អ្នកគិតលេខ (nĕək kɨt leek)
• Macedonian: сметач m (smetač)
• Manx: co-earrooder m
• Portuguese: calculador m, calculista (pt)
• Romanian: calculator (ro) m, calculatoare (ro) f
• Russian: счётчик (ru) m (sčótčik), расчётчик (ru) m (rasčótčik)
• Sanskrit: गुणक (sa) m (guṇaka)
• Ukrainian: лічба́р m (ličbár)
• Vietnamese: người tính

person who calculates (in the sense of scheming)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 計算者／计算者 (jìsuànzhě)

• Dutch: planner (nl) m
• Finnish: laskelmoija, taulukko (fi)
• German: Rechner (de) m
• Portuguese: calculista (pt) m
• Vietnamese: người láu cá

set of mathematical tables

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 計算表／计算表 (zh) (jìsuànbiǎo)

• Finnish: laskuri (fi)
• French: tables f pl
• Hebrew: טבלת חישובים f (t'avlat khishuvym)
• Italian: tabelle (it) f pl
• Japanese: 計算表 (けいさんひょう, keisannhyō)
• Romanian: tabele f pl
• Russian: табли́цы расчётов f pl (tablícy rasčótov), табли́ца (ru) f (tablíca)
• Vietnamese: máy tính dạng bảng

See also

• ready reckoner
• slide rule
• tables
• Category:calculators on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

References

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Calculator”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume II (C), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, pages 27–28, column 3.

Cebuano

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English calculator.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kalkjuˈleitoɾ/ [kɐl̪.kjʊˈl̪iɪ.t̪oɾ̪]

Noun

calculator (Badlit spelling ᜃᜎ᜔ᜃ᜔ᜌᜓᜎᜒᜌ᜔ᜆᜓᜇ᜔)

1. calculator (device)

   Synonyms: calcu, kalkulador

Latin

Etymology

From calculō (“I calculate”) +‎ -tor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kal.kuˈlaː.tor/, [käɫ̪kʊˈɫ̪äːt̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kal.kuˈla.tor/, [kälkuˈläːt̪or]

Noun

calculātor m (genitive calculātōris, feminine calculātrīx); third declension

1. calculator, bookkeeper, accountant
2. computer, one versed in/teacher of arithmetic

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	calculātor	calculātōrēs
Genitive	calculātōris	calculātōrum
Dative	calculātōrī	calculātōribus
Accusative	calculātōrem	calculātōrēs
Ablative	calculātōre	calculātōribus
Vocative	calculātor	calculātōrēs

Synonyms

• calculātrīx

Verb

calculātor

1. second-person singular future passive imperative of calculō
   1. "thou shalt be calculated, thou shalt be computed"
   2. (figuratively) "thou shalt be considered as, thou shalt be esteemed"
2. third-person singular future passive imperative of calculō
   1. "it shall be calculated, it shall be computed"
   2. (figuratively) "she shall be considered as, she shall be esteemed"

Descendants

• → Ancient Greek: καλκουλάτωρ (kalkoulátōr)

References

• “calculator”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• calculator in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• calculator in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “calculator”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “calculator”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French calculateur; compare also English and Latin calculator. Equivalent to calcula +‎ -tor.

Noun

calculator n (plural calculatoare)

1. calculator (device)
2. computer

   Synonyms: computer, ordinator

Declension

Declension of calculator

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) calculator	calculatorul	(niște) calculatoare	calculatoarele
genitive/dative	(unui) calculator	calculatorului	(unor) calculatoare	calculatoarelor
vocative	calculatorule		calculatoarelor