computer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kəmˈpjuːtə/
ipa: /kəmˈpjutɚ/
ipa: [kəmˈpʰjuɾɚ]
rhymes: -uːtə(ɹ)
Forms: form: computers
form: computor
Etymology: From compute + -er.
 Doublet of cantore, counter, and kontor. First sense first appears c. 1613 in the works of the poet Richard Brathwait. Second sense first appears c. 1897 in the magazine Engineering.
Senses: examples: text: I haue read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer breathed, and he reduceth thy dayes into a short number: The daies of Man are threescore and ten.
ref: 1613, Richard Brathwait, The Yong Mans Gleanings, page 1:
text: By which manner of ſpeaking, this Propheteſs, who is ſo exact a Computer, would have us, I ſuppoſe, to conclude, that it would be a great miſtake to think that the number of Angels was either 9, or 11 for one of Men.
ref: 1674, “To the Guardian-Angel”, in Reflexions upon the Devotions of the Roman Church, London: Richard Royston, page 419:
text: Only a few years ago Mr. Powers, an American computer, disproved a hypothesis about prime numbers which had held the field for more than 250 years.
ref: 1927, J. B. S. Haldane, Possible Worlds and Other Essays, London: Chatto & Windus, page 173:
text: During World War II, scientific laboratories had rooms full of people doing different parts of a complicated calculation using pencil and paper, slide rules, and mechanical calculators. At that time, the word computer referred to a person, and those group calculations may be viewed as the early steps of parallel computing.
ref: 2001, Michael L. overton, Numerical Computing with IEEE Floating Point Arithmetic, SIAM, page 1:
text: One Harvard computer, Annie Jump Cannon, used her repetitive acquaintance with the stars to devise a system of stellar classifications so practical that it is still in use today.
ref: 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, page 116:
synonyms: computator
mental calculator
human calculator
glosses: A person employed to perform computations; one who computes.
examples: Coordinate term: (female) computress
synonyms: computator
mental calculator
human calculator
glosses: A person employed to perform computations; one who computes.
A male computer.
qualifier: by restriction
examples: text: I spend around 6 hours a day at the computer.
text: As well as saving the photos on my computer, I have them backed up on a USB drive.
text: David is a computer expert.
text: Janet works at the computer store.
synonyms: word: processor
word: 'puter
word: box
word: machine
word: calculator
glosses: A programmable electronic device that performs mathematical calculations and logical operations, especially one that can process, store and retrieve large amounts of data very quickly; now especially, a small one for personal or home use employed for manipulating text or graphics, accessing the Internet, or playing games or media.
Synonyms: word: 'puter
word: box
word: calculator
word: computer
word: electronic brain
word: electronic computer
word: machine
word: number cruncher
word: thinking machine
Hypernyms: sense: programmable electronic device
word: electronic device
sense: programmable electronic device
word: machine
word: device
Hyponyms: sense: programmable electronic device
word: analog computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: analogue computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: appliance computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: biocomputer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: biological computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: briefcase computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: classical computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: deskside computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: desktop computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: digital computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: dive computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: domino computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: electromechanical computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: electro-mechanical computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: electronic computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: gaming computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: home computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: hybrid computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: laptop computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: microcomputer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: midrange computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: minicomputer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: notebook computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: pedestal computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: personal computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: pocket computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: quantum computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: reservoir computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: server computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: spatial computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: supercomputer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: tablet computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: ternary computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: wearable computer
sense: programmable electronic device
word: zombie computer
word: server
word: desktop
word: laptop
word: notebook
word: subnotebook
word: netbook
word: mainframe
Meronyms: word: hardware
word: processor
word: fan
word: memory
word: RAM
word: ROM
word: cache
word: motherboard
word: bus
word: hard drive
word: port
word: card
word: serial port
word: parallel port
word: USB port
Derived terms: word: anticomputer
word: compucondria
word: compunications
word: compusex
word: computeracy
word: computer-aided design
word: computer-aided translation
word: computer architecture
word: computerate
word: computerbased
word: computer-based
word: computer-based teaching
word: computer chess
word: computer chip
word: computercide
word: computer code
word: computer conferencing
word: computer-controlled timing
word: computer core
word: computer dating
word: computerdom
word: computer engineering
word: computerese
word: computeresque
word: computerette
word: computerful
word: computer game
word: Computergate
word: computer graphics
word: computerholic
word: computer illiteracy
word: computer illiterate
word: computerisation
word: computerise
word: computerism
word: computerist
word: computeristic
word: computeritis
word: computerize
word: computer lab
word: computerland
word: computer language
word: computerless
word: computerlike
word: computer literacy
word: computer-literate
word: computer literate
word: computerlore
word: computer-mediated communication
word: computer model
word: computer network
word: computernik
word: computerologist
word: computerology
word: computer paper
word: computer person
word: computerphile
word: computerphobe
word: computerphobia
word: computerphobic
word: computerphone
word: computer processor
english: computer programme
translation: computer programme
word: computer program
word: computer programming
word: computer programmer
word: computer says no
word: computer science
word: computer scientist
word: computer security
word: computer shop
word: computer simulation
word: computerspeak
word: computer system
word: computer technician
word: computer typesetting
word: computer virus
word: computer vision
word: computer vision syndrome
word: computerware
word: computery
word: computress
word: computronium
word: cyclocomputer
word: human-computer interaction
word: hypercomputer
word: intercomputer
word: macrocomputer
word: maxicomputer
word: mecomtronics
word: memcomputer
word: multicomputer
word: neurocomputer
word: noncomputer
word: precomputer
word: precomputers
word: telecomputer
word: transputer
Related terms: word: computation
word: compute
word: computing
word: computus
word: software