computer

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See also: Computer and compùter

English[edit]

Human computers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1955).
An electronic computer (circa early 1980s).

Etymology[edit]

From compute +‎ -er. Doublet of cantore, counter, and kontor.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA(key): /kəmˈpjuːtə/
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /kəmˈpjutɚ/, [kəmˈpʰjuɾɚ]
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Hyphenation: com‧put‧er
  • Rhymes: -uːtə(ɹ)

Noun[edit]

computer (plural computers)

  1. (now rare, chiefly historical) A person employed to perform computations; one who computes. [from 17th c.]
    • 1613, Richard Brathwait, The Yong Mans Gleanings‎[1], page 1:
      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.
    • 1674, “To the Guardian-Angel”, in Reflexions upon the Devotions of the Roman Church, London: Richard Royston, page 419:
      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.
    • 1927, J. B. S. Haldane, Possible Worlds and Other Essays‎[2], London: Chatto & Windus, page 173:
      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.
    • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, page 116:
      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.
    Hyponym: computress
    1. (by restriction, chiefly historical) A male computer, where the female computer is called a computress.
  2. 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. [from 20th c.]
    Synonyms: processor, (informal) 'puter, (slang) box, machine, calculator; see also Thesaurus:computer
    Hyponyms: desktop, laptop, portable computer, stored-program computer
    I spend around 6 hours a day at the computer.
    As well as saving the photos on my computer, I have them backed up on a USB drive.
    David is a computer expert.
    Janet works at the computer store.

Quotations[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Descendants

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

See also

Further reading[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English computer.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [kʰʌmˈpʰj̊uːd̥ɐ]

Noun[edit]

computer c (singular definite computeren, plural indefinite computere)

  1. computer (machine)

Declension[edit]

Declension of computer
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative computer computeren computere computerne
genitive computers computerens computeres computernes

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /kɔmˈpjutər/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: com‧pu‧ter
  • Rhymes: -utər

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from English computer.

Noun[edit]

computer m (plural computers, diminutive computertje n)

  1. computer
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

computer

  1. first-person singular present indicative of computeren
  2. imperative of computeren

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin computō, computāre (“to compute, sum up”). See also the doublets compter and conter.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

computer

  1. (archaic, rare) to compute
    • 1802, François-René de Chateaubriand, Génie du christianisme
      Quant aux ères, ici on compte par l'année de la création, là par olympiade, par la fondation de Rome, par la naissance de Jésus-Christ, par l'époque d'Eusèbe, par celle des Séleucides, celle de Nabonassar, celle des martyrs. Les Turcs ont leur hégire, les Persans leur yezdegerdic. On compute encore par les éres julienne, grégorienne, ibérienne et actienne.
      As the eras, here they compute by the year of the creation, there by olympiads, by the foundation of Rome, by the birth of Christ, by the epoch of Eusebius, by that of Seleucids, of Nabonassar, of the Martyrs. The Turks have their hegira, the Persians their yezdegerdie. The Julian, Gregorian, Iberian and Actian eras, are also employed in computation.

Conjugation[edit]

Conjugation of computer (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple computer
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple computant
/kɔ̃.py.tɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle computé
/kɔ̃.py.te/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present compute
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		computes
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		compute
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		computons
/kɔ̃.py.tɔ̃/ 		computez
/kɔ̃.py.te/ 		computent
/kɔ̃.pyt/
imperfect computais
/kɔ̃.py.tɛ/ 		computais
/kɔ̃.py.tɛ/ 		computait
/kɔ̃.py.tɛ/ 		computions
/kɔ̃.py.tjɔ̃/ 		computiez
/kɔ̃.py.tje/ 		computaient
/kɔ̃.py.tɛ/
past historic2 computai
/kɔ̃.py.te/ 		computas
/kɔ̃.py.ta/ 		computa
/kɔ̃.py.ta/ 		computâmes
/kɔ̃.py.tam/ 		computâtes
/kɔ̃.py.tat/ 		computèrent
/kɔ̃.py.tɛʁ/
future computerai
/kɔ̃.py.tʁe/ 		computeras
/kɔ̃.py.tʁa/ 		computera
/kɔ̃.py.tʁa/ 		computerons
/kɔ̃.py.tʁɔ̃/ 		computerez
/kɔ̃.py.tʁe/ 		computeront
/kɔ̃.py.tʁɔ̃/
conditional computerais
/kɔ̃.py.tʁɛ/ 		computerais
/kɔ̃.py.tʁɛ/ 		computerait
/kɔ̃.py.tʁɛ/ 		computerions
/kɔ̃.py.tə.ʁjɔ̃/ 		computeriez
/kɔ̃.py.tə.ʁje/ 		computeraient
/kɔ̃.py.tʁɛ/
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present compute
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		computes
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		compute
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		computions
/kɔ̃.py.tjɔ̃/ 		computiez
/kɔ̃.py.tje/ 		computent
/kɔ̃.pyt/
imperfect2 computasse
/kɔ̃.py.tas/ 		computasses
/kɔ̃.py.tas/ 		computât
/kɔ̃.py.ta/ 		computassions
/kɔ̃.py.ta.sjɔ̃/ 		computassiez
/kɔ̃.py.ta.sje/ 		computassent
/kɔ̃.py.tas/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — compute
/kɔ̃.pyt/ 		— computons
/kɔ̃.py.tɔ̃/ 		computez
/kɔ̃.py.te/ 		—
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
  • past historic → present perfect
  • past anterior → pluperfect
  • imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive
  • pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive

(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English computer.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

computer m (invariable)

  1. computer (calculating device)
    Synonyms: calcolatore, elaboratore

References[edit]

  1. ^ computer in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Latin[edit]

Verb[edit]

computer

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of computō

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English computer.

Noun[edit]

computer n (plural computere)

  1. computer
    Synonyms: calculator, ordinator

Declension[edit]

Declension of computer
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) computer computerul (niște) computere computerele
genitive/dative (unui) computer computerului (unor) computere computerelor
vocative computerule computerelor

Related terms[edit]

Romansch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English computer.

Noun[edit]

computer m (plural computers)

  1. computer
    Synonym: calculater
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