1795, "one who or that which filters," agent noun in Latin form from percolate. As a type of coffee-maker, by 1808. American English slang meaning "house party" is recorded from 1946.
Entries linking to percolator
percolate v.
1620s, "to strain through" (transitive), a back-formation from percolation, or else from Latin percolatus, past participle of percolare "to strain through." Figurative sense by 1670s. Intransitive sense of "to pass through small interstices" is from 1680s. Related: Percolated; percolating.