adapter

[uh-dap-ter]

a person or thing that adapts.

a connector for joining parts or devices having different sizes, designs, etc., enabling them to be fitted or to work together.
Also called plug adapter, adapter plug.a device that connects an electrical plug to an outlet that has a different plug shape: Last time I traveled, I brought the wrong adapter.
Also called AC adapter, power adapter.a device with a cord that plugs into an electrical outlet and functions as an external power supply for a small or portable electronic device, usually converting AC current to DC: I forgot to plug in the adapter, and my laptop died.

an accessory to convert a machine, tool, or part to a new or modified use.

Computers.

expansion card.
an external device containing the necessary circuitry to connect to or work with another device or system: a network adapter; a wireless adapter; a video adapter.

Origin of adapter

First recorded in 1795–1805; adapt + -er¹

Related formsnon·a·dapt·er, non·a·dap·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Poems by Collin and Carpani, the adapter of the text, were presented to him.
The Standard Oratorios
George P. Upton
These reveal Shakespeare undisguisedly as an adapter of plays by other hands.
A Life of William Shakespeare
Sidney Lee
Sometimes he takes his adapter with him to see these French plays.
Ainslee's magazine, Volume 16, No. 2, September, 1905
Various
Burton, indeed, hailed the adapter of Omar Khayyam as a "fellow Sufi."
The Life of Sir Richard Burton
Thomas Wright
The hand of the adapter, the interpolator and the reviser is unmistakably present.
The Truth About Jesus is He a Myth?
M. M. Mangasarian

Word Origin and History for adapter

1801, agent noun from adapt. Electrical engineering sense from 1907.

adapter in Medicine

One that adapts.

A connecting part that joins two pieces of apparatus.

A converter of electric current to a desired form.