A device or person that launches or sends something into the air or forward, like a rocket launcher or an application launcher on a computer.
From French 'lancer' meaning to throw or launch, combined with the English agent suffix '-er.' The word entered English in the 1500s for military use and expanded with modern technology.
The word 'launcher' barely existed before the 20th century—but suddenly we needed it for cannons, rockets, and boats, showing how one word stretched to cover totally new technologies!
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