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Component vs Shifter - What's the difference?

component | shifter |

As nouns the difference between component and shifter

is that component is a smaller, self-contained part of a larger entity often refers to a manufactured object that is part of a larger device while shifter is one who, or that which, shifts or changes.

As an adjective component

is making up a larger whole; as a component word.

component

English

(wikipedia component)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A smaller, self-contained part of a larger entity. Often refers to a manufactured object that is part of a larger device.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author= Katie L. Burke
    • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= In the News , passage=Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:

    Derived terms

    * componentless

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Making up a larger whole; as a component word.
  • Made up of smaller complete units in combination; as a component stereo.
    • ----

    shifter

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who, or that which, shifts or changes.
  • (dated) One who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.
    • 'Twas such a shifter that, if truth were known, Death was half glad when he had got him down. — Milton.
  • (nautical) An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.
  • (engineering) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another.
  • (engineering, textiles) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.
  • (cycling) A component used by the rider to control the gearing mechanisms and select the desired gear ratio, usually connected to the derailleur by a mechanical actuation cable.
  • A spanner with an adjustable jaw size.
    • (Webster 1913) English agent nouns