Depressiver

Depressiver is a term encountered in German-language texts with several meanings depending on context. It is formed from depressiv and the agent-noun pattern -er, and it ultimately derives from the Latin depressor, meaning something that lowers or presses down. In everyday German, Depressiver can refer to a person who experiences depression; indeed, the masculine form der Depressiver and the feminine der Depressive are used colloquially, though medical and neutral phrasing typically prefers der/de die Person mit Depression or the noun Depressive.

In technical usage, depressiver can denote something that depresses a part of a system. The standard term in German for a device or muscle that lowers something is usually Depressor, borrowed directly from Latin. For example, in anatomy, Musculus depressor labii inferioris and Musculus depressor anguli oris are muscles that depress the lower lip and the corners of the mouth; in mechanical contexts a depressor mechanism lowers a surface or component. In pharmacology, substances that depress central nervous activity are called Depressiva (depressants) in German, while "Depressiv" is an adjective meaning characteristic of depression.

The term is closely related to the English "depressor," which has similar senses in anatomy and physiology. See also depressant, depressive.