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First Use of 'Computer' for a Device
- When
- 1897
- Where
- unknown
The term 'computer' began to refer to a calculating machine in 1897, shifting from its earlier meaning of a human calculator.
The Online Etymology Dictionary dates the use of 'computer' to mean 'calculating machine' to 1897. The supplied passages do not support the specific date of 22 January or the location of London. The identity of the journal 'Engineering' is not confirmed in the context of this event.
Sources
- Computer Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-09
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.