51吃瓜

Digital

It鈥檚 hard to imagine how the word digital could describe anything other than the 鈥渟mart鈥� gadgets we can鈥檛 keep our hands off of. Far from the strings of 0s and 1s powering computerized technology today, once (quite simply) meant 鈥減ertaining to the fingers.鈥� Makes sense, right?

Aside from the innovation of devices with instant access to the world’s knowledge, the Digital Age is an incredible period that has contributed to how language evolves. The semantic development of digital听from 鈥渇ingers鈥� to 鈥渃omputers鈥� exemplifies this journey from manus (“hands”) to machina (“machine”) in our lexicon. What are some other digital words that have interesting
analog
pasts?

Broadcast

Now related to the global transmission of voice and image (radio and television), broadcast听was originally an agricultural term. In the late 1700s, broadcasting meant 鈥渨idely dispersing seed upon the ground.鈥� The farmer would cast or 鈥渇ling鈥� the seed across prepared soil.

The term was revamped in the 1920s with the rise of radio. Transmitting towers began casting signals out across a broad reception area, and media took flight (or fling?).

Backlog

A backlog of business orders is bittersweet; the orders keep coming in, but employees can鈥檛 process them fast enough so they begin to stockpile. Sales may be on the rise, but so is inefficiency. And, as businesses continue to go paperless, faster online transactions make backlogs more likely.

The wasn鈥檛 always double-edged. In the late 1600s, the backlog was quite literally “the largest log, located toward the back of the fire.” That log in the back would keep the flames burning. A couple centuries later, its original meaning influenced today鈥檚 definition: 鈥渟omething stored up for later use.鈥� Of course, a backlog of backlogs may cause everything to go up in flames.

Matrix

In the 1300s, 600 years before Neo chose the Red Pill to reveal a sinister dystopian world, a was a 鈥減regnant animal鈥� or 鈥渂reeding female.鈥� Then, the word referred to the 鈥渨omb,鈥� as well as to an 鈥渆nclosure鈥� or a 鈥渕edium鈥� in which new things originate and develop. This seems to be the strongest sense at play in the 1999 film The Matrix: humans trapped inside the 鈥榳omb鈥� of the Matrix . . . their bodies forced to pump bioelectricity to generate its power. 听听

Matrix is a word used to describe several other concepts in digital technology (as a grid that defines spaces for pixels), mathematics, archeology, biology, and even linguistics. It seems this is a truly evolved word.听

Avatar

Avatars are thousands of years old, originating in Hindu mythology鈥攜ou could say they鈥檙e the real millennials. 听

The word avatar is Sanskrit and means 鈥渄escent.鈥� In Hindu myth, gods appeared on earth as avatars, bodies that gave holy spirits material form. Online communities and science-fiction creators adapted this term to mean some kind of 鈥渞epresentation.鈥� Inspired by Hindu myth, James Cameron鈥檚 Avatar听is a remotely controlled form that 鈥渄escends鈥� on the moon Pandora to interact with the natives. Before this though, the听computer gaming world had appropriated the term avatar (in the mid 鈥�80s) for the game Habitat.听That was the first time avatar described the image representing a user in a virtual environment.听

Dashboard

For most people, dashboard means the instrument panel of a vehicle. But more and more, people are recognizing digital dashboards as the interface tools on a website or technical device.

Go back 200 years, and the original was an important component of a carriage. It was a literal board at the front of the carriage to prevent mud from being dashed (or “splashed”) into the vehicle by mudslinging horses. Now, instead of 鈥渟plash stopping,鈥� today鈥檚 tech dashboards are “motherboards” where users can dash off a bunch of actions at once.

Forum

Of the words here, forum鈥檚 ancient analog roots are generally known to anyone who studied Western civ. The predecessor for today鈥檚 online forum or “message board” is the Ancient Roman Forum. Of course, instead of communicating through posted messages, Romans expressed their views out loud. The art of oration or public speaking was highly valued 鈥攂ut only for adult male citizens. Now, millennia later, forums are for 鈥榚m all!

Firewall

Since the 1990s, computers have been equipped with firewalls, or security measures that prevent unauthorized access to computer networks.

Like dashboard and other vocabulary repurposed by technology, firewall once had a literal meaning (and it鈥檚 not too hard to figure out). Yep, firewalls were once simply 鈥渨alls for fire.鈥� Beginning in the mid-1800s, some buildings have physical walls that are constructed to prevent flames from spreading. Same for cars and ships. So basically, computer firewalls are digital 鈥渨alls for fire鈥濃�攂arriers against the fire of cyberattacks, hacks, and untrusted traffic. Sophisticated firewalls are crucial as global fire starters (hackers and cyberattacks) become more advanced.

Hacker

Modern-day hackers know their way around computers (and firewalls) and can work their magic in legitimate, helpful ways . . . or illegitimate and malicious ways.

Outside the domain of computer geekdom (or the person with a chest-wrenching cough), a hacker in the 1200s was a wood 鈥渃hopper鈥� or 鈥渃utter,鈥� or someone who made tools for hacking wood. The toolkit for a medieval hacker was filled with fanciful-named items, like wymbylle, and skantyllyon. The computer definition of hacker听broke in in 1975, possibly associating illegal hacking with the medieval idea of 鈥渃utting鈥� or 鈥渃hopping鈥� into a system without authorization. (Want to learn more about modern-day hackers? Check out听the strange names of infamous hackers.)听

Network

Television networks are companies with transmitting stations that broadcast programs across a large area. Where does the net fit in? It doesn鈥檛 now, but back in the 1550s, were 鈥渘et-like arrangements of threads and wires.鈥� Network might be influenced by the Latin word used to describe a latticework design of brick and mortar, in a pattern resembling a net. The design was literally called a net work (opus reticulatum). Looking at a media network map is a lot like looking at a lattice . . . .