Did these words exist before the Internet?

[H3LL]

I have just unsubscribed from a thread and will soon log out.

I'm curious as to what words are completely new or have become common since the arrival of the Internet.

I want to ignore all the technical jargon and nouns directly associated with the technology and try and look more at actions, as in my first sentence.

Unsubscribe - I am doubtful that this was around before the Internet and I suspect "cancel subscription" would have been the common equivalent.

Log out - Again, suspicious that this would be rare before the Internet, if used at all. The nearest would be "Clock out" or "Check out" as a guess.

More words and your comments please.


.

[Darat]

Load and save

[H3LL]

Load and save

Load - Lots of places: weapons, cassettes, cargo etc .

Save...Hmmm...replaces 'record' and similar to 'store', perhaps?
"I'll save the leftovers for tomorrow."

Not changed significantly with the Internet, me thinks.

.

[H3LL]

Another:

Scroll - Definitely pre-Internet, but is it pre-computer as a verb?

.

[Darat]

Load - Lots of places: weapons, cassettes, cargo etc .

Save...Hmmm...replaces 'record' and similar to 'store', perhaps?
"I'll save the leftovers for tomorrow."

Not changed significantly with the Internet, me thinks.

.

Have to disagree - ask anyone not up to speed with computers what "loading" or "saving" means and you'll get a blank stare (at best).

[H3LL]

Have to disagree - ask anyone not up to speed with computers what "loading" or "saving" means and you'll get a blank stare (at best).

I might go halfway with you on that one.

Give a PC newbie a CD/DVD and tell them to load it in the computer, they will look for a slot/hole.

Save - Yup! Blank looks.

Maybe they will put it in their pocket. :D

[krelnik]

A neat way to research stuff like this is Google Books (http://books.google.com). The advanced search allows you to specify years, so for instance you can search books published before 1950.

NOTE: When they've scanned in a series of bound periodicals, the year listed will be the FIRST year of the periodical, so you can get seemingly false results in the summaries. For instance, an article in last November's Atlantic Monthly scanned from a bound set would say "Atlantic Monthly - 1949". You have to drill down to see for sure.

Anyway, here's what I found:

"unsubscribed" does appear to predate the Internet, it was used in stock market contexts ("unsubscribed shares"). But "unsubscribe" might be new as you suggest.

"log out" certainly existed in computer contexts prior to what we know as the Internet, any time-sharing system would have used this. I found one computer book from 1964 that mentions it. But everything prior to that is not relevant.

"scroll" as a verb does predate, but it meant "to inscribe on a scroll".

--Tim Farley

[technoextreme]

Another:

Scroll - Definitely pre-Internet, but is it pre-computer as a verb?

.
It is but nothing related to the internet definition. Apparently, if you scroll it also means you are using a scroll saw.
Save...Hmmm...replaces 'record' and similar to 'store', perhaps?
"I'll save the leftovers for tomorrow."
It's the same definition precomputers. To save something means to preserve for future use.

[GodMark2]

"log out" certainly existed in computer contexts prior to what we know as the Internet, any time-sharing system would have used this. I found one computer book from 1964 that mentions it. But everything prior to that is not relevant.

"Log out" also referred to the process of marking a log book to indicate that you had left a controlled area, but the more common was "Sign out", as the mark used was often your signature.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I'm fairly certain that the verb google did not exist before the Internet.

~~ Paul

[joobz]

Pwn
Goatse
L33T


we can thank the internet for typos and sloppy spelling to become words.

[technoextreme]

Pwn
Goatse
L33T


we can thank the internet for typos and sloppy spelling to become words.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype
Nope. Shorthand is a very very old practice.

[joobz]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype
Nope. Shorthand is a very very old practice.
if shorthand was the driving force, I'd agree
however,

OMG UR THE ROXXXXXXXOR!!!!!1!1eleventy!!!{`+{`+{`$#+%{&#").

[technoextreme]

if shorthand was the driving force, I'd agree
however,

OMG UR THE ROXXXXXXXOR!!!!!1!1eleventy!!!{`+{`+{`$#+%{&#").
Even then slang predates the computer by a couple hundred years. OMG and UR are forms of shorthand. In fact looking at wikipedia the first use of ur was probably in shorthand.

[joobz]

Even then slang predates the computer by a couple hundred years. OMG and UR are forms of shorthand. In fact looking at wikipedia the first use of ur was probably in shorthand.
not the point. of course slang and shorthand existed, but shorthand isn't the sole goal behind leet users.
Many of the words developed there are purely from internet usage. Pwn, leet, goatse and any other number of internet slang terms did not exist prior to the internet.
ETA: add teh to the list of words "given" to us by our internets.

[technoextreme]

not the point. of course slang and shorthand existed, but shorthand isn't the sole goal behind leet users.
Many of the words developed there are purely from internet usage. Pwn, leet, goatse and any other number of internet slang terms did not exist prior to the internet.
That's what leet is though. Slang, shorthand, and memes. They aren't really that special. Though I didn't know what FUBAR was until the internet's help.

[joobz]

That's what leet is though. Slang, shorthand, and memes. Some of which had some odd origins like kekeke which is apparently just romanized Korean. Technically goatse would be a proper noun not a word.
it's a bit more. Like i said.
!!1111!!!! isn't shorthand. And goatse can be a verb. Anyway, this is getting needlessly pendantic.

It is interesting though that you include meme. Aren't all words memes? wouldn't that be the point of any new term or a change in meaning of an existing word? That the meme that the word refers to has changed or a new one has arisen that needed a term?

[bokonon]

I suspect that scroll as a verb was used with its computer-context meaning to describe credits at the end of a movie. I know "roll credits" was. According to this source (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=scroll), "scroll" as a verb dates to the 17th century, meaning to write in a scroll. It claims "show a few lines at a time" meaning was first recorded in 1981, which would put it between Arpanet and the commercial internet. I wouldn't be surprised if they missed an earlier use for movies, but I don't have any evidence.

"Spam" as a verb is post-internet. "Hacking" and "debug" may be post-computer and pre-internet. Emoticon is purely post-internet.

[joobz]

I suspect that scroll as a verb was used with its computer-context meaning to describe credits at the end of a movie. I know "roll credits" was. According to this source (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=scroll), "scroll" as a verb dates to the 17th century, meaning to write in a scroll. It claims "show a few lines at a time" meaning was first recorded in 1981, which would put it between Arpanet and the commercial internet. I wouldn't be surprised if they missed an earlier use for movies, but I don't have any evidence.

"Spam" as a verb is post-internet. "Hacking" and "debug" may be post-computer and pre-internet. Emoticon is purely post-internet.
what about flaming? I do not think it was used to describe mean letters sent through snailmail.*


*which is another word to be created post internet.

[technoextreme]

what about flaming? I do not think it was used to describe mean letters sent through snailmail.*


*which is another word to be created post internet.
I just looked it up in the dictionary. There isn't that much difference between preinternet flaming and postinternet flaming. I think it's a word that just became more common because people don't typically speak using flamboyant language and metaphors. Hack oddly enough predates the computer.

[greymatters]

The first real internet, ARPAnet, was created in 1969. Here are just some of the words and concepts that have come into existence (not all necessarily internet-related) since then:

artificial heart
ATM
barcode scanner
CD-ROM
cell phones
daisy-wheel printer
digital answering machines
digital cell phones
disposable camera
disposable contact lenses
disposable lighter
Doppler radar
dot matrix printer
DVD
ethernet LAN
floppy disk
food processor
gas-powered fuel cell
gene splicing
Hacky Sack
HDTV
HIV protease inhibitor
HTML
hepatitis-B vaccine
Indiglo nightlight (used to light watches)
inkjet printer
Java programming language
laser printer
LCD
liposuction
microprocessor
MRI
Pong
Post-it note
Prozac
push-through soda tabs
Rollerblades
RU-486
Segway
smart pill
Soft bifocal contact lens
spreadsheets
Viagra
VCR
Walkman
WebTV
word processor
World Wide Web

[technoextreme]

The first real internet, ARPAnet, was created in 1969. Here are just some of the words and concepts that have come into existence (not all necessarily internet-related) since then:
Barcode scanner and push-through soda tabs don't belong on that list.

[greymatters]

Why not? The barcode scanner was developed the same year as ARPAnet (1969) and the push-through soda tab was invented in 1975.

[RayG]

If someone told me to 'open my browser' twenty years ago, I wouldn't know what they meant.

Did anyone mention email or email attachment?

How about spyware?

RayG

[Hawk one]

If it wasn't invented in the age of the internet, "fanboy" sure as hell spread a lot because of it. And because of video games, which are fairly related.

[six7s]

NetLingo.com: the semantics storehouse of cyberspace (http://www.netlingo.com/index.cfm)

It began in 1994 as a Web site which started tracking hundreds of new words and terms that were emerging on a daily basis surrounding the community and technology of the Internet, the World Wide Web, computers, and the high-tech industries

[technoextreme]

Why not? The barcode scanner was developed the same year as ARPAnet (1969) and the push-through soda tab was invented in 1975.
Nope. I looked it up on wikipedia. Barcodes actually went into commercial use in 1966. In fact I would knock a lot of those words off just because the product itself didn't exist (Disposable-anything) doesn't mean the word didn't exist.

[PixyMisa]

Yeah, barcodes went into use in '66, but it was three years before they worked out how to read them.




:p

[PogoPedant]

adware
malware
freeware
postcardware
shareware
cybersex
LOL as a verb.. :) (to LOL, LOL, LOLed maybe)
Internet
website
blog
vlog
webcam

[rtalman]

"Hacker" as a word definitely predates computers, it refers to a very poor golf player.

"Load" and "Save" predate the internet, but not computers. My VIC-20 used the commands:
LOAD "file",8,1
SAVE "file",8,1

[Rrose Selavy]

Although I believe the origination of "@" came well before computers, we still don't seem to have a proper term for "the at sign"


or do we?

-

[greymatters]

It's known either as simply an "at", or the more formal version, "commercial at".

True, it's not as exotic as "ampersand", "tilde", "pilcrow", "caret" or "umlaut", but there it is.

[MetalPig]

The Dutch word for the @-character means 'monkey tail'.

(It just occurred to me that the German word for monkey tail would be 'Affenschwanz', which amuses me.)

[Beerina]

"log out" certainly existed in computer contexts prior to what we know as the Internet, any time-sharing system would have used this. I found one computer book from 1964 that mentions it. But everything prior to that is not relevant.

"scroll" as a verb does predate, but it meant "to inscribe on a scroll".

--Tim Farley

Like "log out", "scroll" also predated the Internet in computer terms.

So did links, even clickable ones to take you somewhere else. "Link" comes from "hyperlink", based on a web-like concept from the mid-80's (at least, maybe earlier). You used to be able to buy "Hypercard" from Apple for your Mac, where you could set up "cards" with pictures and words that you could click on to link to other cards. Your set of cards was your "stack".

One of the first games for Hypercard was called "Inigo gets out", where you clicked on things to find out where the kitten was getting to outside.

[Beerina]

adware
malware
freeware
postcardware
shareware
cybersex
LOL as a verb.. :) (to LOL, LOL, LOLed maybe)
Internet
website
blog
vlog
webcam


"Software" itself was a play on words on "hardware". Later came "wetware", your brain, used in cyberpunk stories which include programming data into the brain in one way or another.

[Beerina]

Although I believe the origination of "@" came well before computers, we still don't seem to have a proper term for "the at sign"


or do we?

-

@ I believe is a commercial symbol used in transactions, as in "20 units @ $3.00" = 20 units at three dollars (each).

I think there's an e with a circle around it used similarly.

[Rrose Selavy]

Yes that's very common but an original earlier version has been traced back possibiy to early hand wrtitten manuscripts. It was just an intiutive way of compressing two letters as a form of shorthand and didn't have a name.

[mummymonkey]

Clickable?

[DevilsAdvocate]

Here's my list. Some are not new words, but words used in a very different way since the interent. Some (like "computer virus") pre-date the opening of the Internet to the public in 1994, but probably would not be in common use if not for a public internet.

adware
avatar
back button
baud rate
blog
blogosphere
brick-and-mortar
broadband
browser
chat room
click rate
cookie
crack
cross-platform
cybersex
cyberspace
dedicated hosting
dial-up
domain name
dot-com
download
email
emoticon
favorites
firewall
flame (as a verb)
freeware
google (as a verb)
hack
homepage
hyperlink
information superhighway
instant messaging
Internet
link
malware
modem
mousetrapping
net
netiquette
offline
online
pay-per-click
peer-to-peer
pharming
phishing
podcast
pop-up (ad, blocker, window)
proxy server
search engine
Secure Sockets Layer
shareware
smiley
snail mail
spam (as a verb)
spyware
streaming
trojan horse (virus)
troll
unzip
upload
username
videocast
virus
web
web zine
webcam
webcast
webcentric
webmaster
website
wi-fi
wiki
WorldWideWeb
worm (virus)
zip

[Oliver]

The Dutch word for the @-character means 'monkey tail'.

(It just occurred to me that the German word for monkey tail would be 'Affenschwanz', which amuses me.)


*lol* I think that's why it's actually called
"Affenklammer/Klammeraffe" - "Monkey hook"... :D


ETA: You're right - Affenschwanz is correct
as well. (Never heard the word in this context) :p

[ShowerComic]

I'm fairly certain that the verb google did not exist before the Internet.

~~ Paul

As a verb no, as a number yes. 1 Google = 10^100
1 Googleplex = 10 ^ (10 ^100)

Also Yahoos were characters in Gulliver's Travels.

[greymatters]

Nope - the word "Google" didn't exist at all in the English language before the internet.

10^100=googol (not google)
10^(10^100)=googolplex (not googleplex)

[Rrose Selavy]

Nope - the word "Google" didn't exist at all in the English language before the internet.




It certainly did, but only in fiction:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Google
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Google_Book


-

[greymatters]

OK, "Google" may have in other contexts. But definitely not the word "Snuffy". ;)

[Pope130]

The first real internet, ARPAnet, was created in 1969. Here are just some of the words and concepts that have come into existence (not all necessarily internet-related) since then:

Doppler radar


Drop Doppler from your list. 1950's: AN/APN-66 and -67 (similar system, different antenna) in the B-47 and EC-121, AN/APN-81 in the C-130B and E (that's the one I used), AN/APG-59 and -60 in the F-4.

The early Doppler was a bugger to tune and use, but when it worked, and had a good navigator, it could produce amazingly accurate results.

Robert Klaus

[illogical]

internets likely existed before the Internet. cisco people have to make the distinction.

logout or lo was used on UNIX and VMS systems. when this term/command started, i have no idea.

the GUI, email, OOP, Ethernet, etc, date back to the PARC stuff.

[MG1962]

I'd challenge "Information Super Highway" I first heard the term in the mid 70's to describe what the future would bring with the linking of computers all over the world.

On a side note - the oldest computer term I can think of is 'debug' It's usage dates back to WW2 when pre transistor computers were run on valves. Each morning technitians had to climb in the back of the machines and sweep out all the moths attracted by the light and heat - hence debug the machine before use

[illogical]

Google first computer bug and you'll see some nice images. i think the very first was a moth inside of a relay (electromechanical) machine.

that was a $500,000 question on Millionaire?

[Rrose Selavy]

I thought of fiction where words/phrases first appear - such as Robot with the Karel Kapek play and as a metaphor for the internet, "Cyberspace" from Wiliam Gibson.

-

[illogical]

i should check Wikipedia, but ...

i wonder what the stages were? Babbage and Lovelace, then ?, then electromechanical, then valve, transistor, 74xx/SSI, etc. i guess many were built on ideas from von Neumann.

i saw a hobbyist design that used small-signal transistors, 3000 or so. i can see the point of mucking with earlier cpus, but i'd draw the line at 74xx/40xx.