Used To- Original Meanings of Technology Terms

Original meanings of technology words used to practice

What were the original meanings of these computer terms? Choose some ones you think you know or can make up and see if the class believe you.

• attach
• browse
• bug
• chat
• click
• clipboard
• column
• compatible
• cookies
• desktop
• drag
• floppy
• lap(top)
• mac
• mouse
• notebook
• piracy
• port
• rip
• row
• scan
• scroll
• shopping cart
• signature
• smiley
• spam
• stream
• surf
• tablet
• twitter/ tweet
• virus
• web
• wireless
• yahoo!

Useful language for the discussion

“This used to just mean…, but now it also means…”

“This didn’t use to mean… but just meant…”

Check your answers with the next page. Can you guess which is the original meaning? (It’s pretty easy!)

Check your answers as a class.

• attach – join things together/ add a document to an email
• browse – explore the internet/ walk around a shop looking without any plans to buy
• bug – problems with computer code/ insect or other small creature
• chat – small talk/ simultaneous keyboard communication
• click – choose an icon/ a small sound such as a key makes when it locks or unlocks
• clipboard – all the documents you have copied/ a thick piece of stiff cardboard with a clip at the top which means you can write on paper while you are standing up or on a chair with no table
• column – the vertical part of a table/ the vertical supports of buildings, e.g. Greek temples
• compatible – goes well together, e.g. a couple with personalities that don’t crash/ software that can be used with a particular computer
• cookies – biscuits/ a programme that remembers your details after you leave a webpage
• desktop – the top of your desk/ the first screen you see on your computer
• drag – pull something (usually heavy) along the floor without lifting it
• floppy – an adjective that is the opposite of stiff, like an old cabbage leaf/ opposite of a hard disk
• lap(top) – the top of your thighs when you are sitting down/ a portable computer
• mac – an Apple product/ short for mackintosh, meaning a long but thin raincoat
• mouse – a small creature similar to a rat, e.g. Mickey/ the thing used to control a computer with one hand
• notebook – a pad of blank or lined paper in the form of a book/ a small laptop
• piracy – making illegal copies to sell/ boarding people’s ships to steal from them, take them as slaves etc
• port – somewhere where ships can load and unload/ places where you can connect things to a computer
• rip – tear/ copy something onto a CD
• row – the horizontal part of a table/ a sideways line of seats, e.g. seats in a plane that have the same number but different letters
• scan – change a hard copy into an electronic one/ look at something from top to bottom or side to side
• scroll – move down a website or document to see something further down/ a rolled up piece of paper etc, e.g. used before books existed
• shopping cart – the things you have chosen so far on a website/ the trolley for customers in a supermarket
• signature – your name, address etc at the bottom of your emails/ the official form of your name on documents such as a cheque
• smiley – cheerful / :)
• spam – the most famous processed meat brand/ junk mail
• stream – a verb meaning live broadcast by the internet/ a small river
• surf – stand on a surfboard in the sea/ explore the internet
• tablet – a 3D rectangular shape such as a pill/ a computer like an iPad
• twitter/ tweet – the sounds of small birds/ the most famous microblogging service
• virus – a computer program that is designed to spread and damage computers or steal data/ a pathogen that makes you ill, often confused with bacteria
• web – the internet/ what a spider lives in and catches its food in
• wireless – internet access without a cable/ a radio
• yahoo! – a happy shout/ a popular internet portal