an employee, often an officer, of a business firm who checks expenditures, finances, etc.; comptroller.
2.
a person who regulates, directs, or restrains.
3.
British Aeronautics. a dispatcher.
4.
a regulating mechanism; governor.
5.
Also called control unit, processor. Computers. the key component of a peripheral device, as a terminal, printer, or external storage unit, that contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute instructions fed into the device.
Origin
1350-1400;Middle Englishcountrollour < Anglo-Frenchcountrero(u)llour,Middle Frenchcontrerolleur, equivalent to contrerolle duplicate roll (see control) + -eur, -our < Latin-ōr--or2 or -ātōr--ator
Related forms
controllership, noun
Examples from the web for controllers
Sega bundled controllers that looked like maracas with samba de amigo.
They are increasingly present in portable electronic devices and video game controllers.
British Dictionary definitions for controllers
controller
/kənˈtrəʊlə/
noun
1.
a person who directs, regulates, or restrains
2.
Also called comptroller. a business executive or government officer who is responsible for financial planning, control, etc
3.
the equipment concerned with controlling the operation of an electrical device
Derived Forms
controllership, noun
Word Origin and History for controllers
controller
n.
late 14c., from Anglo-French contrerolleour (late 13c.), Old French contrerelleor (Modern French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrarotulator, agent noun from *contra-rotulare (see control (v.)). Mechanical sense is from 1867.