input English · revision 5887

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1753}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɪn.pʊt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[in]] and [[put]], after the verbal phrase to put in,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) first as a Scots noun.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) The Middle English verb input “to impose” followed Latin imponere,^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline) and the modern verb is a new formation from the same parts.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sum put in, a contribution, in Scots: 1753 in the OED and Etymonline,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) while MWU gives 1653 for its first sense, and the SOED records an insertion in early 16th-century Scots.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ That which is put into or used by a system is from 1893,^(OED 1989) energy supplied to a device from 1902,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and in economics the resources used in production from 1926.^(OED 1989) In computing, data fed into a machine is from 1948,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and the verb, to feed data into a computer, from 1946.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) A place where an input enters, such as a socket, is from 1929.^(OED 1989) 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.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1753 – a contribution (Scots).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1893 – what is put into a system.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1902 – energy supplied to a device.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1926 – in economics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1946 – the verb, in computing.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1948 – data fed into a computer.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something put into a system, such as [[energy]], money or effort.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Data or instructions entered into a [[computer]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Ideas, advice or opinions contributed to something.^(AHD)

+ # A place or device through which a signal enters, such as a socket.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To enter [[data]] into a computer.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[output]]

+ * [[put]]

+ * [[in]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots and Yorkshire dialect an input is a contribution to a collection, or help.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}