Etymology Reference

algorithm

Arabic

al-Khwarizmi — 9th-century Persian mathematician

cipher

Arabic

sifr (zero) — concept of "empty" then code

bug

English

Apocryphal: moth in Harvard Mark II relay (1947)

daemon

Greek

daimon — spirit/helper process running in background

kernel

Germanic

Old English cyrnel — seed, core of a nut

socket

French

soc (plowshare) then diminutive then opening for connection

port

Latin

portus (harbor) — entry point for connections

protocol

Greek

protokollon — first sheet glued to a manuscript

virus

Latin

virus (poison, slime) — self-replicating malicious code

firewall

English

Literal wall preventing fire spread then network barrier

router

French

route (road) then device that directs traffic

cache

French

cacher (to hide) — hidden storage for quick access

queue

French

queue (tail) — line waiting for service

stack

Norse

stakkr (haystack) — LIFO data structure

token

Old English

tacen (sign) — authentication credential

byte

English

Coined 1956 by Werner Buchholz — deliberate respelling of "bite"

pixel

English

Picture element — pix + el

wiki

Hawaiian

wikiwiki (quick) — Ward Cunningham WikiWikiWeb

blog

English

web + log then weblog then blog (1999)

spam

English

Monty Python sketch — repetitive, unwanted

data

"things given" (pl. of datum)

database, metadata, data center

terminus

boundary, end

terminal, terminate, deterministic

integer

whole, untouched

integer (whole number), integrity

index

pointer, indicator

array index, database index

cursor

runner

database cursor, screen cursor

vector

carrier

attack vector, vector graphics

matrix

womb, source

matrix multiplication, decision matrix

nexus

connection, link

network nexus, Nexus repository

alias

"otherwise"

command alias, DNS alias (CNAME)

sudo

"super user do"

But also Latin: "I command/order"

kryptos

hidden

cryptography, encryption, decrypt

logos

word, reason

logic, analog, dialogue, -logy

graphein

to write

graphics, paragraph, cryptograph

autos

self

automation, autonomous, authenticate

tele

far

telemetry, telephone, telnet

meta

beyond, about

metadata, metaprogramming

poly

many

polymorphism, polyglot

syn/sym

together

synchronize, syntax, symlink

para

beside, beyond

parameter, parallel, paradigm

hyper

over, above

hypervisor, hyperlink, hypertext

algorithm

al-Khwarizmi

Mathematician name then Latinized

algebra

al-jabr

"Reunion of broken parts"

cipher/zero

sifr

"Empty" then Italian zefiro then zero

almanac

al-manakh

Climate/calendar tables

nadir

nazir

"Opposite" — lowest point

zenith

samt

"Direction" — highest point

tariff

tarifa

"Notification" then rate schedule