Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
backplane | the circuit board on a computer to which other circuit boards and components can be connected. |
baud | a unit of data transmission speed of one bit per second. |
binit | a unit of computer information. |
biochip | a computer logic circuit whose components are formed from biological molecules or structures. |
bitrate | the speed of data processing. |
brontobyte | a very large unit of computer memory. |
byte | a set of usually eight binary digits (bits) considered as a unit. |
cardpunch | a machine which perforates cards to record data. |
chad | a bit of paper punched out of paper tape or cards. |
chipset | a group of chips performing certain functions. |
computability | the quality of being computable. |
computer | a machine that computes automatically. |
computerless | without a computer. |
computerlike | like a computer. |
computist | a computer. |
coprocessing | the act of processing by means of a coprocessor. |
coprocessor | a microprocessor supplementing the functions of a main processor. |
crackberry | a BlackBerry handheld computer, particularly one used obsessively; a person who uses such a computer obsessively. |
cyber | involving computers. |
daisywheel | a kind of printer. |
datacard | a smart card. |
dataglove | an electrically wired glove-like device that transmits the wearer's movements to a virtual reality monitor. |
daughterboard | a small circuit board that can be attached to the motherboard of a computer. |
desknote | a small computer. |
desktop | a computer system small enough to use at a desk. |
diskette | a small flexible plastic disk with a magnetic coating used as an inexpensive data-storage device of moderate capacity. |
dongle | a security device on computers. |
eniac | an American pioneering electronic computer. |
exabyte | a very large unit of computer memory. |
fablet | a large smartphone that is able to perform many of the functions of a tablet computer. |
floppy | given to flopping (noun) a floppy disk |
floptical | a type of read-write head using a laser device. |
gigabit | a thousand million bits. |
gigabyte | a thousand million bytes. |
gigacycle | one billion hertz. |
gigaflop | a unit of processing speed. |
gigahertz | one billion hertz. |
handheld | something, eg a computer, held in the hand and operated from there. |
hardboot | a type of computer startup. |
hardware | metal goods. |
hardwire | to program by hardware. |
inkjet | a printer that spurts ink to form letters. |
joypad | a device consisting of a pad with buttons on it, used for controlling the motion of objects in a computer game. |
joystick | a lever by means of which the movement of a cursor on a screen may be controlled. |
keyboard | the manually operated range of keys or levers in a musical instrument, computer, etc; (verb) to enter data on a keyboard. |
keycard | a coded card for operating a device. |
keypad | a small device with push-button controls, eg a TV remote control unit. |
keypunch | to transfer data on to punched cards. |
keypuncher | one who keypunches. |
keyring | a type of computer drive. |
kibibyte | two to the power of ten bytes. |
lapheld | held in the lap. |
laptop | a computer that can be used on the lap. |
laserdisc | a disc similar to a long-playing record on which data is stored by the use of a laser. |
laserdisk | a disc similar to a long-playing record on which data is stored by the use of a laser. |
luggable | portable, but with some difficulty; (noun) a luggable computer. |
mainframe | a large computer serving others. |
mebibyte | two to the power of twenty bytes. |
megabit | one million bits. |
megabyte | one million bytes. |
megacycle | a million cycles; a million cycles per second. |
megaflop | a processing speed of one million operations per second. |
megapixel | one million pixels. |
metacomputer | a collection of computers that looks and functions like a single computer. |
metacomputing | computing that uses metacomputers. |
micro | a microcomputer. |
microchip | a chip of silicon; (verb) to fit with a microchip. |
microcircuit | a compact electronic circuit. |
microcircuitry | circuitry composed of microcircuits. |
microcomponent | a very small component. |
microcomputer | a small computer usually equipped with a microprocessor. |
microcomputing | computing with a microcomputer. |
microdrive | a very small hard disk drive. |
microfloppy | a small floppy disk. |
microprocessing | the processing of data by a microprocessor. |
microprocessor | a computer processor contained on an integrated-circuit chip. |
microreader | a device that produces an enlarged image of a microphotograph or microfilm. |
microworld | a discrete area within a computer database. |
microwriter | a handheld five- or six-key device by means of which text can be generated on a printer or vdu. |
minicomputer | a small computer that is intermediate between a microcomputer and a mainframe. |
minidisc | a small recordable compact disk. |
minidisk | a small disk for a microcomputer. |
minifloppy | a small floppy disk. |
minitower | a computer in a small vertical cabinet. |
mips | a million instruction per second. |
modem | an electronic device which converts digital data from a computer into analogue signals that can be sent to another computer over a telephone system; (verb) to transmit or receive by modem. |
motherboard | part of a computer. |
multicore | of an electrical cable having more than two cores. |
multiplexer | a device enabling a computer to transmit data to many terminals by switching quickly from one user's data to another. |
multiplexor | a device enabling a computer to transmit data to many terminals by switching quickly from one user's data to another. |
nanodot | a microscopic cluster of several hundred nickel dots used to store large amounts of data in a computer chip. |
netbook | a portable computer smaller than a laptop. |
neurochip | a microchip used in neural networks. |
neurocomputer | a computer that uses neural networks to mimic the action of the human brain. |
neurocomputing | computing using neural networks to mimic the action of the human brain. |
nybble | in computing, half a byte. |
overclock | to run a computer component at a higher clock rate than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer. |
overclocker | one who overclocks. |
palmtop | a small handheld computer. |
petabyte | in computing, 10 to the fifteenth bytes. |
petaflop | a unit of processing speed equal to 2 to the power of 50 floating-point operations per second. |
phablet | a handheld personal computer between a smartphone and a tablet in size and which combines features of both. |
photodisk | a disk for use in a computer that contains photographs or can have photographs stored on it in a digitally coded manner. |
policer | a computer device controlling use. |
printwheel | another name for daisywheel, a kind of printer. |
processor | something that processes. |
qubit | in computing, a quantum bit. |
qubyte | in computing, a quantum byte. |
rootserver | a computer that acts as the main server for a whole service. |
soundcard | the card in a computer that produces audio. |
supercomputing | computing using a supercomputer, a large very fast mainframe used esp for scientific computations. |
supermicro | a very small micro computer. |
superscalar | of a processor, able to perform more than one instruction simultaneously. |
swapfile | a computer file with space for transferred programs. |
tebibyte | two to the power of forty bytes. |
terabyte | a large unit of computer memory. |
touchpad | part of a laptop computer functioning like a mouse. |
touchscreen | a computer screen operated by touch. |
trackball | a spherical ball mounted in a box structure that can be used to control a computer cursor. |
trackerball | a spherical ball that can be rotated with the palm of the hand causing the cursor to move around the screen. |
trackpad | part of a laptop computer functioning like a mouse. |
transputer | a special computer chip able to process in parallel rather than sequentially. |
vidscreen | a video screen. |
viewport | a framed area on a computer display for viewing information. |
yottabyte | a very large unit of computer memory. |
zettabyte | a unit of computer memory, 10 to the 21 bytes. |