Is there a single word for a member of a group who completes a job?

Question

I have a job, for which some people are responsible, say: a, b, c, d and e. If anyone does the job, it is marked as complete.

Now let us say c completed the job, so what would I call that person in one word (think completor - not a word).

It is basically for a database schema for a table of tasks which I have to define. Each task has a list of responsible people. Now as soon as the task is done by someone, it's ~~completor~~ field is to be linked to the person who did it.

So what I want is a suitable name for the ~~completor~~ field.

In many consulting companies, in professional documentation, the word used for this is resolver. Since they solve problems, or resolve issues reported by people. — karthik, Feb 26 '12 at 19:02
There is a user experience stack exchange that might be helpful with this kind of question. You could argue that the 'user' in this case is the developer who will use your database. — Adam Brown, Jan 24 '14 at 23:07
How about 'executor'? Seems both appropriate and official sounding. — TeejMonster, May 30 '11 at 18:37

score 16 · Accepted Answer · answered May 30 '11 at 14:40

16

All of the -er words are fine examples, but I can't think of any use of them that won't seem awkward.

Why not use "done by", "completed by", "finished by" or a similar construct?

answered May 30 '11 at 14:40

Olie

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I think this is the best answer in context. It is not a single word, but it sounds the best, and I believe would be the most easily understood. (fyi I am also a programmer) – Sophie McCarrell May 30 '11 at 16:52
I like this the best out of all the suggested answers. I can't help thinking that two simple, easy to understand words are a better answer than one convoluted word that feels like its clumsy or stretched when used that way. – Rob Moir May 30 '11 at 17:09
yeah, I also think this would be the best. A db schema no where requires to be a single word. – crodjer May 30 '11 at 19:47
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+1 I find these constructs not only are clearer, but also align nicely with their time-stamp counterparts: CreatedOn, CompletedOn, DeletedOn, etc. which are normally related. – Daniel Liuzzi May 31 '11 at 05:42

score 11 · Answer 2 · answered May 30 '11 at 12:21

11

Completor may not be a word, but completer is. Here's the Wiktionary entry for it; it can indeed be a noun meaning 'one who completes'.

answered May 30 '11 at 12:21

Jedd

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I looked at completer but except this page there was no suggestion if it actually means that: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/completer and also I have seen that such type of nouns generally end in or, while er is more for comparitive sense – crodjer May 30 '11 at 12:26
@crodjer; not true re comparative sense - see http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-er – Unreason May 30 '11 at 12:31
@crodjer: What's the rule for adding -er vs. -or when nouning a verb? – RegDwigнt May 30 '11 at 13:41

score 11 · Answer 3 · answered May 30 '11 at 12:31

11

You might try finisher, which suggests "[bringing] a task or activity to an end" [Noad].

answered May 30 '11 at 12:31

Robusto

151,571

I think this looks the most fitting in my case. – crodjer May 30 '11 at 12:40
Please cite source, because dictionary doesn't define "finisher" as a person who finished something. – Thursagen May 30 '11 at 13:27
@Third Idiot: Yes it does. NOAD: "finisher noun 1 a person or thing that finishes something ..." NOAD doesn't turn up an entry for accomplisher, however, which is your offering. – Robusto May 30 '11 at 13:34
Look in the Merriam-Webster – Thursagen May 30 '11 at 13:37
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@Third Idiot: Who made you the arbiter of sources around here? – Robusto May 30 '11 at 13:39
What do you mean? – Thursagen May 30 '11 at 13:40
@Third Idiot: You could look it up in the only source you recognize: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arbiter – Robusto May 30 '11 at 13:49
Hahaha! I already know what an arbiter is. I was just wondering how I was arbitering the sources. – Thursagen May 30 '11 at 21:06
@Third: You asked him to cite a source, he cited the New Oxford American Dictionary, and you then told him t check Merriam-Webster (with the implication that MW is more authoritative than NOAD, thus, IMO, the comment re: arbitration). – Adam Robinson Jun 01 '11 at 00:29
@Adam Robinson, Oh, no, that wasn't what I meant. He said that NOAD doesn't turn up an entry for accomplisher, so I just cited a source. I wasn't trying to say that NOAD isn't good enough. I use it too, and trust it. – Thursagen Jun 01 '11 at 05:00

score 9 · Answer 4 · answered May 30 '11 at 12:30

9

You could go with achiever (would be my personal choice), finalizer, or fulfiller.

answered May 30 '11 at 12:30

F'x

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I like fulfiller. – Chris Cudmore May 30 '11 at 14:06
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Fulfiller sounds like someone who fulfills the terms of a contract. – Arlen Beiler May 30 '11 at 16:11

Thursagen · Answer 5 · 2011-05-30T21:08:00.830

4

How about this:

Accomplisher

As in "'c' is an acomplisher"

edited May 30 '11 at 21:08

answered May 30 '11 at 13:30

Thursagen

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Most appropriate term so far, in my opinion – b.roth May 30 '11 at 13:45

score 3 · Answer 6 · edited May 30 '11 at 13:10

3

How about concluder:

A person who, or thing which concludes (in any sense)

edited May 30 '11 at 13:10

F'x

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answered May 30 '11 at 12:59

JoseK

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered May 30 '11 at 15:02

1

How about just 'completor'? It's for a database schema, not real life, and it accurately conveys what you want the field to do.

answered May 30 '11 at 15:02

Paul Biggar

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score 1 · Answer 8 · answered May 30 '11 at 18:32

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Are you absolutely sure you want a "-er" word? In database schemas one typically uses properties, such as "hasFinished", so perhaps this would be a cleaner approach. This assuming that entity in question is member who has finished the job/task; if so, I would find choice of "finisher" (etc) odd; as most commonly "finisher" (etc) would actually point to another entity, and not be a property of that entity.

answered May 30 '11 at 18:32

StaxMan

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He states in the question that this field is intended to point back to the entity that finished the task, so "finisher" (or whatever -er word is chosen) seems appropriate. – Adam Robinson May 30 '11 at 19:31
Ah ok. My mistake then, somehow I read it as if this was a boolean property. – StaxMan May 31 '11 at 22:01

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered May 30 '11 at 18:57

Concept: Agent. Category: 1. Simple voluntary action Synonyms:
-nouns doer, actor, agent, performer, perpetrator, operator; executor, executrix; practitioner, worker

Source: http://thesaurus.com/browse/agent

Many of the words above link to other groups, with similar as well as extended results.

The first word to pop in my head, that related to what you were asking, was "proxy".

Is there a single word for a member of a group who completes a job?

9 Answers9

Linked