Word 'computer' first used for a calculating device (1897)

The term 'computer' shifted from denoting a human calculator to a mechanical device in 1897. Earlier usage, recorded in a 1613 book, referred to individuals performing arithmetic. The Online Etymology Dictionary dates the machine definition to 1897, though specific details about the journal or location are not supported by the supplied passages.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Prior to 1897, 'computer' referred to a human performing calculations, as evidenced by a 1613 book by Richard Brathwait. The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that the term's meaning shifted to 'calculating machine' in 1897. This transition marks a change from a person to a device, though the specific context of the 1897 usage is not detailed in the sources.

Usage in 1897. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the use of 'computer' to mean 'calculating machine' dates from 1897. The supplied passages do not confirm the specific date of 22 January or the location of London. The journal 'Engineering' mentioned in the legacy row is not identified in the passages, which describe a different journal launched in 2015.

Participants. Richard Brathwait is identified as the English writer of the 1613 book 'The Yong Mans Gleanings', which used 'computer' to refer to a human. The supplied passages do not identify any participants or specific journals involved in the 1897 usage of the term for a machine.

People involved

Sources

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.