Etymologically
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software

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsɒft.weə/, US /ˈsɑːft.wer/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from English soft + ware,[2][3] coined in the computing sense on the model of hardware.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An earlier soft-wares, woollen or cotton fabrics and other perishable goods, is recorded by 1820.[2][3] The computing sense is a separate coinage, from 1958 in Merriam-Webster[4] and by 1960 in Etymonline and the OED.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The computing sense means the programs and routines that direct a computer, as opposed to the machine itself, the hardware.[6][5] The OED's 1960 example refers especially to system programs such as compilers and library routines.[5] Transferred and figurative uses date from 1963,[5] and software engineering from 1969.[5] Collins also lists video cassettes and discs for a video system.[7]

Timeline

  • 1820 – soft-wares, textiles and perishable goods.[2]
  • 1958 – computer programs.[4]
  • 1963 – figurative use.[5]
  • 1969 – software engineering.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The programs and other data that direct the operation of a computer, as distinguished from the hardware.
  2. Recorded material such as video discs for use with a particular system.

Word family

  • firmware
  • freeware
  • shareware
  • wetware
  • systems software
  • vaporware
  • hardware
  • soft
  • ware
  • wares

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins