ETYM Latin.
1. Device that distributes voltage to the spark plugs of a gasoline engine in the order of the firing sequence; SYN. distributer, electrical distributor.
2. Someone who markets merchandise.

Device in the ignition system of a piston engine that distributes pulses of high-voltage electricity to the spark plugs in the cylinders. The electricity is passed to the plug leads by the tip of a rotor arm, driven by the engine camshaft, and current is fed to the rotor arm from the ignition coil. The distributor also houses the contact point or breaker, which opens and closes to interrupt the battery current to the coil, thus triggering the high-voltage pulses. With electronic ignition it is absent.