mainframe

English

Alternative forms

• main frame

Etymology

From main +‎ frame.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪnˌfɹeɪm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

mainframe (plural mainframes)

1. (computer hardware) A large, powerful computer able to manage very many simultaneous tasks and communicate with very many connected terminals; used by large, complex organizations (such as banks and supermarkets) where continuously sustained operation is vital.

   Synonyms: maxicomputer, maxi (informal)

2. (computer hardware) A computer chassis that hosts and interconnects modules that perform various tasks.
3. The main frame of a vehicle etc., more commonly main frame.

Derived terms

• mainframed
• mainframelike
• mainframer
• micromainframe
• minimainframe
• nonmainframe

Descendants

• → Italian: mainframe
• → Japanese: メインフレーム (meinfurēmu)
• → Portuguese: mainframe
• → Spanish: mainframe

Translations

large computer

• Bulgarian: мейнфрейм компютър m (mejnfrejm kompjutăr), мейнфрейм m (mejnfrejm)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 主機 / 主机 (zh) (zhǔjī)

• Esperanto: ĉeforgano, ĉefa komputilo, ĉefkomputilo, komputilego
• Finnish: suurtietokone, keskustietokone (fi)
• German: Großrechner (de) m
• Greek: μεγαλόσχημος (el) m (megalóschimos)
• Hungarian: nagygép (hu), nagyszámítógép (hu)
• Italian: mainframe (it) m
• Japanese: メインフレーム (meinfurēmu)
• Kazakh: мэйнфрейм (mèynfreym)
• Korean: 메인프레임 (meinpeureim)
• Norwegian: stormaskin m
• Polish: mainframe (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: mainframe (pt) m
• Russian: мейнфрейм (ru) m (mejnfrejm), мэйнфрейм (ru) m (mɛjnfrejm)
• Spanish: mainframe m, unidad computadora central f
• Swedish: stordator c
• Turkish: anabilgisayar (tr)
• Vietnamese: máy tính lớn

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English mainframe.

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

mainframe m (plural mainframes)

1. (computer hardware) mainframe (large, powerful computer connected to terminals)

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English mainframe.

Noun

mainframe m (plural mainframes)

1. (computer hardware) mainframe (large, powerful computer connected to terminals)

Further reading

• “mainframe”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English mainframe.

Noun

mainframe m or f (plural mainframes)

1. (computer hardware) mainframe (large, powerful computer connected to terminals)

Further reading

• “mainframe”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English mainframe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meinˈfɾeim/ [mẽĩɱˈfɾẽĩm]
• Rhymes: -eim

Noun

mainframe m (plural mainframes)

1. (computer hardware) mainframe (large, powerful computer connected to terminals)

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.