Dedicator

A dedicator is a person or entity that makes a formal dedication of something to a person, group, deity, or purpose. The term is used most often in formal or legal language and is less common in everyday speech. In many contexts, the dedicator is the creator or owner who initiates the act of dedicating, while the recipient is commonly called the dedicatee.

Etymology and usage

The word dedicator derives from the verb dedicate, with the agentive suffix -ator. In English, dedication is the noun form for the act or ceremony of dedicating, and dedicatee is sometimes used to describe the recipient, though dedicatee is also relatively uncommon. The noun dedicator tends to appear in more formal, legal, or institutional contexts than in casual writing.

Common contexts

In literature, a dedicator is typically the author who dedicates a book to someone, with the dedicator sometimes noted on the dedication page. In architecture and public works, a building, monument, or road may be dedicated by the owner, sponsor, or governing body, invoking a ceremonial acknowledgment. In religious or ceremonial settings, a dedication may inaugurate a church, temple, or other sacred space, led by an officiant in which the dedicator formally commits the object to its intended purpose. In legal and municipal contexts, the act of dedicating land or facilities to public use or to a government entity can be described using the term dedicator, reflecting the responsible party who performs the conveyance or reservation.

See also

Dedication, dedicatee, dedication ceremony, dedication page, public dedication.