divertern.
1. gen. One who or that which diverts: see the verb.
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society > leisure > entertainment > [noun] > source of amusement or entertainment
mirtha1250
solacec1290
recreationc1400
esbatement1477
pastime1490
pastancea1500
passe-temps1542
entertainment1561
relief?1578
fancy1590
sport1598
abridgement1600
entertain1601
recreative1615
amusatory1618
nutsa1625
diverter1628
recreator1629
passatempo1632
amuser1724
fun1726
dissipation1733
resource1752
distraction1859
enlivening1859
good, clean fun1867
enlivenment1883
light relief1885
laugh1921
not one's scene1962
violon d'Ingres1963
1628 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 3) ii. ii. iv. 262 T'is the best Nepenthes, surest cordiall, sweetest alteratiue, presentst diuerter.
1661 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 3) 42 Angling was..A rest to his mind, a cheerer of his spirits, a diverter [(ed. 1) divertion] of sadness.
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 204 Seeing his beloved Diverters carrying away by those Birds of Prey, he runs in for his Bow.
a1897 Mod. A diverter of young people.
2. Any of several devices that provide an alternative path for an electric current or for magnetic field lines; spec. (a) a resistance placed in parallel with the series winding of a series- or compound-wound d.c. motor or generator in order to alter the size of the current through the windings; (b) a device that protects a transmission line or associated equipment from surges by providing a path to earth for the surge current.
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1891 J. W. Urquhart Dynamo Constr. xvii. 242 A device, having for its object the controlling of the magnetic intensity was formerly employed in the case of magneto machines. It consisted in placing a ‘divertor’..of soft iron partially across the limbs of the magnet, so as to magnetically short-circuit the magnet.
1909 C. C. Hawkins & F. Wallis Dynamo (ed. 5) I. xvi. 542 Where it may be necessary to alter the amount of compounding..a diverter is employed just as with a series-wound dynamo.
1934 J. Henderson Automatic Protective Gear v. 63 When the straight-through fault current reaches an abnormal value..the diverter relay operates instantaneously.
1946 Nature 23 Nov. 742/1 Their development was first stimulated by the requirements of surge diverters (lighting arresters) for overhead power transmission lines.
1965 B. J. Cory High Voltage Direct Current Convertors & Systems viii. 213 Diverters are installed to protect this item from overvoltages that would arise on account of arc-quenching.
1968 J. F. Whitfield Electr. Installations Technol. viii. 167 Terminal voltage is adjusted by means of the divertor resistance.., which carries part of the current, thus reducing field current and terminal voltage.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1628