starter

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun One that starts.
• noun An attachment for starting an internal-combustion engine without hand cranking.
• noun A device that initiates a flow of high voltage across the electrodes of a fluorescent lamp.
• noun One who signals the start of a race.
• noun A participant that starts in a game or race.
• noun The first pitcher for a team in a game.
• noun A pitcher who regularly begins games for a team.
• noun The first in a series, especially the first course of a meal; an appetizer.
• idiom (for starters) To begin with; initially.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In cribbage, the cut card.
• noun One who or that which starts.
• noun One who sets out on a journey, a pursuit, a race, or the like.
• noun One who or that which sets persons or things in motion, as a person who gives the signal for a race, or for the starting of a coach, car, boat, or other conveyance, or a lever or rod for setting an engine or a machine in motion.
• noun A dog that starts game; a springer; a cocker.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun One who, or that which, starts.
• noun A dog that rouses game.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun Someone who starts something.
• noun Something that starts something.
• noun The first course of a meal, consisting of a small, usually savoury, dish.
• noun sports A player in the starting lineup
• noun A dog that rouses game.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a hand tool consisting of a rotating shaft with parallel handle
• noun a contestant in a team sport who is in the game at the beginning
• noun a culture containing yeast or bacteria that is used to start the process of fermentation or souring in making butter or cheese or dough
• noun food or drink to stimulate the appetite (usually served before a meal or as the first course)
• noun any new participant in some activity
• noun an electric motor for starting an engine
• noun the official who signals the beginning of a race or competition