Compilation of Etymologies of Computing Terms
This uses github pages, so you can follow the github pages local testing instructions to get set up.
- Please feel free to submit PRs!
- Don't use wikipedia or etymonline.com (or at least, prefer primary sources.) See "Error Finding", below.
- It's ok to have "Note: Needs more research".
- Use APA 6 format for sources. (Would love for someone to update this to APA7.)
- This repo has a Code of Conduct: the Contributor Covenant 2.0 0 If you're not sure about something, feel free to open an issue or ask on the Discord.
A lot of the etymologies of computer terms are listed incorrectly once, and then the error is propagated to everything that relies on that incorrect source. The best source is a primary source: a document that contains the first usage of a word (or, first usage of a word in a technology context).
Especially for modern technological terms, Etymonline, which doesn't list sources for its etymologies, has been found to have errors. Even the OED has an error (see "Surf"). However, for ancient etymologies, well-trusted dictionaries are probably ok.
When you're researching a word, keep checking the sources until you get to the actual usage, if possible!
- Internal hyperlinks (to other words) need to be lowercase to work.