transistor

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
transistor/tranˈzɪstə(r)/

▶noun

• 1 a semiconductor device with three connections, capable of amplification and rectification.

• 2 (also transistor radio) a portable radio using circuits containing transistors.

– derivatives
transistorization (or transistorisation) noun,
transistorize (or transistorise) verb.

– origin 1940s: from transfer + resistor, on the pattern of words such as varistor.