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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Transistor \Trans*ist"or\, n. [transfer resistor, from its
ability to tranfer a current across a resistor.]
(Electronics)
a component used in electronic devices consisting of three
regions of at least two types of a semiconducting material,
such as doped silicon, connected to each other and to three
electrodes in a conducting path so as to modify the current
or voltage in an electronic circuit.

Note: Transistors are used in almost all modern electronic
devices, having replaced the vacuum tube in most
applications. Since they are based on the electronic
characteristics of solids, they are called solid-state
devices. Typically a transistor is composed of p, n,
and p-type semiconductors in series, or of n, p, and n,
with the center region being a thin layer between the
two outer regions. An electronic signal input to the
central layer may be substantially amplified by such a
device. In integrated circuits, many thousands of
transistors may be etched into a single small wafer of
silicon.
[PJC]