Donor
A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as representing less than the value of the donation and that the motivation is altruistic. In business law a donor is someone who is giving the gift (law), and a donee the person receiving the gift.
More broadly, the term is used to refer to any entity that serves as the source of something transferred to a different entity, including - in scientific fields - the source of matter or energy passed from one object to another.
The Online Etymology Dictionary traces the English-language word "donor" back to the mid-15th century, with origins in Anglo-French, Old French, Latin and Proto-Indo-European.[1]
In science
Often the word is used as a shorter term for:
- Blood donor
- Donor (semiconductors)
- Egg donor
- Electron donor — (by analogy) a technical term in chemistry and semiconductor physics (see also the next entry)
- Organ donor
- Sperm donor
In society and international relations
- Benefactor (law)
- Donor government or donor organisation in official development assistance
- Grant (law)
- Patronage
In art
- Donor portrait, portrait of the person who paid for a painting, typically in a church
In literature
In fairy tales, a donor is a stock character that tests the hero (and sometimes other characters as well) and provides magical assistance to the hero when he succeeds.
References
- Harper, Douglas. "donor". Online Etymology Dictionary.