Etymologically
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input

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪn.pʊt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from in and put, after the verbal phrase to put in,[2][3][4] first as a Scots noun.[5][4] The Middle English verb input “to impose” followed Latin imponere,[4][2] and the modern verb is a new formation from the same parts.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A sum put in, a contribution, in Scots: 1753 in the OED and Etymonline,[5][2] while MWU gives 1653 for its first sense, and the SOED records an insertion in early 16th-century Scots.[5][2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

That which is put into or used by a system is from 1893,[5] energy supplied to a device from 1902,[5][2] and in economics the resources used in production from 1926.[5] In computing, data fed into a machine is from 1948,[5][2] and the verb, to feed data into a computer, from 1946.[2][3] A place where an input enters, such as a socket, is from 1929.[5] The AHD notes that the word's general use for information and opinion, as in she had no input on the policy, grew from computing and has been criticized as vague.[6]

Timeline

  • 1753 – a contribution (Scots).[5]
  • 1893 – what is put into a system.[5]
  • 1902 – energy supplied to a device.[5]
  • 1926 – in economics.[5]
  • 1946 – the verb, in computing.[2]
  • 1948 – data fed into a computer.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Something put into a system, such as energy, money or effort.
  2. Data or instructions entered into a computer.
  3. Ideas, advice or opinions contributed to something.
  4. A place or device through which a signal enters, such as a socket.

Verb

  1. To enter data into a computer.

Usage notes

In Scots and Yorkshire dialect an input is a contribution to a collection, or help.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)