modem

Etymology

It is a blend from English modulator + demodulator.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

A device that converts signals for electrical transmission and back again: Etymonline records the word by 1937, in reference to the transmission of sound and other signals.^[7] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1952,^[8][9] the OED to 1958, in the Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers,^[2] and Barnhart to 1961.^[4]

Semantic evolution

A modem both modulates and demodulates signals, turning digital ones into analogue ones and back;^[2][4] its best-known use became connecting a computer to a telephone line.^[2][10][11] The American Heritage Dictionary's 5th edition defines it more broadly as a device that sends and receives data on a modulated carrier wave, for network and internet connections.^[3] The verb, to send something by modem, is recorded from 1984.^[2][9]

Timeline

• 1937 – used of the electrical transmission of signals.^[7]
• c. 1952 – a modulator-demodulator.^[8]
• 1958 – a device that modulates and demodulates signals.^[2]
• 1984 – the verb, to send via a modem.^[2][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (computing) A device that converts digital data into signals that can be sent over a telephone line, cable or radio link, and back again, connecting a computer to a network or the Internet.^[10][8][3]

Verb

1. To send data by modem: She modemed the report to the office.^[8][2]

Word family

• cable modem
• fax modem

Related words

• modulator
• demodulator
• modulate
• modulation

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ The World Book Dictionary (2015), Chicago: World Book
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press