driver
n. countablen. a person who controls a vehicle like a car, bus, or truck. It can also mean a piece of software that helps your computer talk to hardware like a printer.
n. a person who operates a motor vehicle; in a computing context, a software component that enables communication between the operating system and a hardware device.
The driver stops the bus at the corner.
The taxi driver navigated through heavy traffic to reach the airport on time.
After upgrading the operating system, the technician had to install a new graphics driver to ensure the monitor displayed the correct resolution.
From Middle English drivere, dryvere, dryvare, equivalent to drive + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Drieuwer (“driver”), Dutch drijver (“driver”), German Low German Driever (“driver”), German Treiber (“driver”), Swedish drivare (“driver”).
In its computing sense, the term is often followed by the name of the hardware it controls, such as 'printer driver' or 'display driver'.