pencil

Tok Pisin: pensil

→ Bole: pensur

→ Central Dusun: pinsil

→ Central Melanau: pisil

→ Dhivehi: ފަންސުރު (fan̊suru)

desc

→ Gulf Arabic: بِنْسِل (pinsil, binsil) (obsolete)

→ Hausa: fensir

→ Hindi: पेंसिल (pensil), पेन्सिल (pensil)

→ Iban: pinsil

→ Indonesian: pènsil

→ Maguindanao: pinsil

or via Tok Pisin <i class="Latn mention" lang="tpi">pensil</i>

→ Maia: pensil (or via Tok Pisin pensil)

→ Malay: pensel

→ Malayalam: പെൻസിൽ (peṉsil)

→ Marshallese: pinjeļ

→ Pennsylvania German: Bensil

→ Scottish Gaelic: peansail

→ Swahili: penseli

→ Swazi: ípénseli

→ Tagalog: pensil

→ Tausug: pinsil

→ Telugu: పెన్సిలు (pensilu)

→ Welsh: pensil, pensel

→ Xhosa: ípénsile

→ Yoruba: pẹ́ńsù

From Anglo-Norman and Old French pincil (see the variant pincel, which gave rise to Modern French pinceau (“paintbrush”)), from Latin pēnicillum, diminutive of pēniculus (“brush”), itself a diminutive of pēnis (“tail; penis”). Not related to pen.

A writing utensil with a graphite (commonly referred to as lead) shaft, usually blended with clay, clad in wood, and sharpened to a taper.

(optics) An aggregate or collection of rays of light, especially when diverging from, or converging to, a point.

When, by the pencil becoming oblique to the surface, the vergency produced on the pencil becomes changed, the primary and secondary focal points, V and H, separate […]

1863, The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal:

A drillable robot is capable of placing its end link in any orientation in the pencil of planes containing its first link.

1987, R. E. Trahan, Applied Identification, Modelling and Simulation, page 107:

Let l and m be two hyperparallel lines. All the transversals to l and m that form congruent corresponding angles with l and m lie in a pencil.

2012, G. E. Martin, The Foundations of Geometry and the Non-Euclidean Plane, page 357:

(geometry) A family of geometric objects with a common property, such as the set of lines that pass through a given point in a projective plane.

(medicine, obsolete, rare) A small medicated bougie.


stylus

Borrowed from Latin stylus (“a stake or pale”). Probably not directly related to Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “a pillar”). Doublet of style.

иго́лка

граммофо́нная

(writing) An ancient writing implement consisting of a small rod with a pointed end for scratching letters on clay, wax-covered tablets or other surfaces, and a blunt end for obliterating them.

(computing) A small device resembling a pen used to input handwritten text or drawings directly into an electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen.

ստիլուս

pen for writing on a touch-sensitive screen


keyboard

(computing, etc.) A set of keys laid out in a grid-like pattern, used for typing on a typewriter, computer etc.

sleutelbord

set of keys used to operate a typewriter, computer etc.


travel

en-noun

travel (countable and uncountable, plural travels)

From Middle English travail, travell, from Old French travail, travaille, travaillie, traval, travalle, traveaul, traveil, traveille, travel. Doublet of travail.

it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive

The keys have great travel.

Distance that a keyboard's key moves vertically when depressed.


pen

From Middle English penne, from Anglo-Norman penne, from Old French penne, from Latin penna (“feather”), from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to rush, fly”) (from which petition). Proto-Indo-European base also root of *petra-, from which Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) (whence pterodactyl), Sanskrit पत्रम् (patram, “wing, feather”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “pen”), Old Norse fjǫðr, Old English feðer (Modern English feather); note the /p/ → /f/ Germanic sound change.
Doublet of panne, penna, and pinna. See feather and πέτομαι (pétomai) for more.

cog

you don't dip your pen in the company inkwell

you don't dip your pen in the company's ink

He took notes with a pen.

A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.


chalk

en-noun

chalk (countable and uncountable, plural chalks)

→ Hindi: चाक (cāk)

→ Japanese: チャコ (chako), チョーク (chōku)

→ Nepali: चक (cak)

→ Swahili: chaki

→ Swazi: íshóki

→ Thai: ชอล์ก (chɔ́k)

→ Tsonga: choko

→ Tulu: ಚಾಕ್ (cākŭ)

→ Yoruba: ṣọ́ọ̀kì

From Middle English chalk, chalke, from Old English ċealc, from Proto-West Germanic *kalk, borrowed from Latin calx (“limestone”), again borrowed from Ancient Greek χάλιξ (khálix, “pebble”). Doublet of calx and cauk.

when working out your next move, it's a good idea to get some more chalk from the bag

(uncountable, climbing, gymnastics) A white powdery substance used to prevent hands slipping from holds when climbing, or losing grip in weight-lifting or gymnastics, sometimes but not always limestone-chalk, often magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃).


key

From Middle English keye, kaye, keiȝe, from Old English cǣġ (“key, solution, experiment”) (whence also Scots key and kay (“key”)), of uncertain origin. The only sure cognates are Saterland Frisian Koai (“key”), West Frisian kaai (“key”), and North Frisian kay (“key”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *kēgaz, *kēguz (“stake, post, pole”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵogʰ-, *ǵegʰ-, *ǵegʰn- (“branch, stake, bush”), which would make it cognate with Middle Low German kāk (“whipping post, pillory”), and perhaps to Middle Dutch keige (“javelin, spear”) and Middle Low German keie, keige (“spear”). For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door. Liberman has noted, however, "The original meaning of *kaig-jo- was presumably '*pin with a twisted end.' Words with the root *kai- followed by a consonant meaning 'crooked, bent; twisted' are common only in the North Germanic languages."

шпи́лка

object used to maintain the orientation between two others

Key in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Press the Escape key.

(computing) One of several small, usually square buttons on a typewriter or computer keyboard, mostly corresponding to text characters.

sleutel

button on a typewriter or computer keyboard

In musical instruments, one of the valve levers used to select notes, such as a lever opening a hole on a woodwind.

In instruments with a keyboard such as an organ or piano, one of the levers, or especially the exposed front end of it, which are depressed to cause a particular sound or note to be produced.


typewriter

A device, at least partially mechanical, used to print text by pressing keys that cause type to be impressed through an inked ribbon onto paper.

makinë shkrimi

machine used to print text by pressing keys


pad

1554, "bundle of straw to lie on", probably from Low German or West Flemish pad (“sole of the foot”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to pass”), which would make it related to both path and find.

unk

probably

A kind of cushion for writing upon, or for blotting, especially one formed of many flat sheets of writing paper; now especially such a block of paper sheets as used to write on.

(music) A synthesizer instrument sound used for sustained background sounds.


style

en-noun

style (countable and uncountable, plural styles)

→ Finnish: staili

→ Scottish Gaelic: stoidhle

→ Iban: stail

→ Japanese: スタイル (sutairu)

→ Korean: 스타일 (seutail)

→ Malay: stail

→ Portuguese: style

→ Swahili: staili

The noun is derived from Middle English stile, stel, stele, stiel, stiele, stil, still, stille, styele, style, styill, styll, styyl (“writing tool, stylus; piece of written work; characteristic mode of expression, particularly one regarded as high quality; demeanour, manner, way of life; person's designation or title; stem of a plant; period of time”), from Old French style, estile, stil, stile (modern French style), or from Medieval Latin stylus, both from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument, pale, spike, stake; writing tool, stylus; act of setting down in writing, composition; characteristic mode of expression, style; stem of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp; to pierce, prick, puncture, stab; to goad”). Doublet of stylus.
The English word is cognate with Catalan estil (“engraving tool, stylus; gnomon; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace”), German Stiel (“handle; stalk”), Italian stilo (“needle, stylus; fountain pen; beam; gnomon; part of pistil, style”), Occitan estil, Portuguese estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style”), Spanish estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace; part of pistil, style”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

styl

manner of expression in writing or speech

styl

manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art

Thus while his Thoughts the lingring Day beguile, / To gentle Arcite let us turn our Style; [...]

1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, book II, page 26:

Senses relating to a thin, pointed object.

(historical) A sharp stick used for writing on clay tablets or other surfaces; a stylus; (by extension, obsolete) an instrument used to write with ink; a pen.


stapler

A device which binds together sheets of paper by driving a thin metal staple through the sheets and simultaneously folding over the ends of the staple against the back surface of the paper.


stapler

(dated) One employed to sort wool according to its staple.


nib

From a variant of neb, perhaps due to association with nibble.

One of the handles projecting from a scythe snath.


banker

→ German: Banker

→ Punjabi: ਬੈਂਕਰ (baiṅkar)

usurer

offering loans, esp. at very high interest

I have a good banker in this city, but I would not wish to draw upon the house until the time when I shall draw for a round sum.

1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC:

One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc.

bankier

one who conducts the business of banking

(stationery) A type of envelope with a diamond shape or V-flap that opens on the long edge.


banker

From bank (“an elevation, or rising ground”) + -er (relational noun suffix) or + -er (occupational suffix).

May 20 1815, John Quincy Adams, letter to a merchant
I think the 584 Bankers may be put down 36,540 tons, navigated by 4,627 men and boys

A vessel employed in the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland.

(Australia, colloquial) A watercourse filled from bank to bank.


banker

Between them these engines work passenger trains on the Keith line, and also act as bankers up to Dava when required.

1944 January and February, W. McGowan Gradon, “Forres as a Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 23:

Because of a shortage of W.R. pannier tanks, two "E6" 0-6-2 tanks, Nos. 32410/5, were engaged as bankers on the Folkestone Harbour branch at the beginning of March; [...].

1960 May, “Motive Power Miscellany: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 314:

(rail transport, British, Australia) A railway locomotive that can be attached to the rear of a train to assist it in climbing an incline.


qwerty

It was the Monotype model D keyboard introduced in 1907 which became the standard for printers, with a "qwerty" typewriter lay and removable keybars which made the keyboard independent of the matrix case arrangement.

1978, Allen Kent, Harold Lancour, Jay E[lwood] Daily, editors, Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, volumes 24 (Printers and Printing to Public Policy, Copyright), New York, N.Y., Basel: Marcel Dekker, →ISBN, page 109:

The typewriter using separate characters on type bars striking on a cylinder soon dominated the market. Because adjacent striking bars tended to jam when struck rapidly, manufacturers abandoned the alphabetical placement of letters on the keyboard in favor of the left-to-right "qwerty" disposition that takes into account the frequency and sequence of letters in English.

1994, Henri-Jean Martin, “Beyond Writing”, in Lydia G. Cochrane, transl., The History and Power of Writing, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 465:


biro

en-noun

biro (countable and uncountable, plural biros)

Genericized trademark of BIRO, named after László Bíró, the inventor of the ballpoint pen.

Massimo's finger was poised above red on his multi-coloured biro like a kangaroo frozen in headlights.

2007, Karen Foxlee, The Anatomy of Wings, page 250:

(by extension, UK, Commonwealth, Ireland) Any ballpoint pen.


ruler

From Middle English reuler; equivalent to rule + -er.

A (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.


ballpoint pen

A pen, similar in size and shape to a pencil, having an internal chamber filled with a viscous, quick-drying ink that is dispensed at the tip during use by the rolling action of a metal sphere (around 0.7 mm to 1 mm in diameter).


Dvorak

August Dvorak
Dvorak Simplified Keyboard

From Czech Dvořák. The keyboard is named after the American inventor August Dvorak.

Dvorak keyboard

(computing, typography) Describing an optimized keyboard layout for the English language, in which the alphabet is arranged in the order PYFGCRL on the top row, AOEUIDHTNS on the middle, or home row, and QJKXBMWVZ on the bottom row, thus placing the letters most frequently used in the home row. Many variants on Dvorak layouts also exist, including keyboards for right-hand-only and left-hand-only-typists.


treasury tag

/ˈtɹɛʒəɹi ˈtæɡ/

From within he took several sheets of paper tied together with a green treasury tag.

1990, Martin Booth, Dreaming of Samarkand, Morrow:

He had an aversion to staples and paper clips and therefore preferred documents to be joined by a treasury tag, or, as he put it, ‘klopped’.

2014, Boris Johnson, The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History, Hodder & Stoughton:

A short piece of cord with metal bars at each end, used in offices for holding papers together or fastening them into a file.

paperin kiinnitysnaru (no exact translation exists)


crayon

Borrowed from French crayon (“pencil”), from craie (“chalk”) + -on (“(diminutive)”), from Latin creta (“chalk, clay”), from crētus.

Let no day pass over you […] without giving some strokes of the pencil or the crayon.

1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:


escapement

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-escapement.wav

From escape + -ment. The watch component is so called because it allows a tooth to escape from a pallet at each vibration.

A mechanism found in devices such as a typewriter or printer which controls lateral motion of the carriage.


qwertz

(computing, typography) A style of keyboard layout used in some European countries.


fountain pen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-foutain pen.wav

Beside the wallet and its contents there were three gaily colored silk handkerchiefs fragrant of chypre; a platinum Longines watch on a platinum and red gold chain, attached at the other end to a small pear-shaped pendant of some white metal; a handful of United States, British, French, and Chinese coins; a ring holding half a dozen keys; a silver and onyx fountain-pen; a metal comb in a leatherette case; a nail-file in a leatherette case; […]

1930, Dashiell Hammet, “The Levantine”, in The Maltese Falcon, New York, N.Y., London: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, pages 57–58:

A pen containing a reservoir of ink, which is fed to a writing nib automatically.


QWERTY

QWERTY (countable and uncountable, plural QWERTYs)

Christopher Latham Sholes
Henry Holt and Company

From the first six letters on one of the upper rows of such a keyboard.

The older children we came to know had had a great deal of experience with written language, and they certainly had a firm grasp of the alphabetic sequence. They were annoyed with the arrangement of letters on the typewriter keyboard, which begins at the second from the top row and proceeds left to right with the letters, "Q," "W," "E," "R," "T," and "Y." Computer professionals, who refer to this arrangement as the "QWERTY keyboard," have pointed out that, although it originated in order to avoid jam-ups of frequently used keys on the manual typewriter, the QWERTY arrangement is now completely obsolete but apparently here to stay. Third and fourth graders knew only that QWERTY had no logic that they could discern, and, until they developed basic keyboard familiarity, it greatly delayed their attempts at finding the keys they needed.

1991, Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cynthia L. Paris, Jessica L. Kahn, “Hunting, Pecking, and Checking: Learning to Write with Word Processing”, in Learning to Write Differently: Beginning Writers and Word Processing (Language and Educational Processes), Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing, →ISBN, page 137:

[…] The Dvorak typewriter keyboard is, it has been claimed, ergonomically superior to the standard "Qwerty" arrangement. But having settled on the current standard keyboard, largely by historical accident, now manufacturers are supposedly reluctant to produce Dvorak keybboards so long as almost all typists are trained on Qwerty, while typists don't want to train on Dvorak when almost all keyboards are Qwerty. Even the inferior keyboard as a matched choice is superior to failing to coordinate at all.

1992, Jack Hirshleifer, John G. Riley, “Strategic Uncertainty and Equilibrium Concepts”, in The Analytics of Uncertainty and Information (Cambridge Surveys of Economic Literature), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published 2002, →ISBN, section 9.1 (Nash Equilibrium), page 330:

The ‘QWERTY’ layout of keyboards is also a cause for concern. The design means that the fingers of the left hand (the less dominant hand for most Westerners) do 57 per cent of the work in typing English text. RSI symptoms are often found to be more intense in the left hand of keyboard users.

1993 September 11, John Ballard, “RSI on Trial: More People Suffering from Repetitive Strain Injury are Seeking Compensation in Court as Fresh Evidence Comes to Light about the Symptoms and Causes of this Crippling Disorder”, in New Scientist, London: New Scientist Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-04-13:

(uncountable, computing, typography) A standard layout of keys on a keyboard for typing, in which the leftmost keys of the top lettered row are Q-W-E-R-T-Y.

كويرتي

If you need to get a grip on a remote workstation, remote-control software can put your fingers on the pearly white QWERTYs of any computer, even half a world away.

1995 February 20, “Windows remote-control software: Reaching beyond your grasp”, Product Comparison, in InfoWorld, volume 17, number 8, San Mateo, Calif.: InfoWorld Publishing Company, →ISSN, page 66:

(countable, computing, typography) A keyboard with such a layout.


ruling pen

a pen used in graphic design and calligraphy for drawing precise lines of various thicknesses


azerty

From the first six letters on the top row of the standard French keyboard.

Having or using the layout of a French/Francophone keyboard.


marker

marker (countable and uncountable, plural markers)

marker interface → marker interface pattern

Don't use the permanent marker on the whiteboard.

Someone or something that creates marks, particularly


quill

From late Middle English quyl, which is first attested in the early 15th century with the meanings "fragment of reed" and "shaft of a feather", probably from Low German and Middle Low German quiele, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to pierce, stick”).
Compare Middle High German kil (“large feather, quill”), which is derived from the Low German term.

cog

The lower shaft of a feather, specifically the region lacking barbs.


pencil sharpener

en-noun

pencil sharpener (plural pencil sharpeners)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pencil sharpener.wav

A device used to sharpen pencils by shaving the wood at one end.


stylograph

→ French: stylographe, stylo (see there for further descendants)

A fountain pen that has a thin hollow tube or needle instead of a nib, and which releases ink when pressed against the paper.


keyboard shortcut

keyboard shortcut (plural keyboard shortcuts)

(computing) A key, or more usually a combination of keys, on the keyboard of a personal computer that activates a specific, predefined function.


keypad

Many laptop computers have special function keys which turn part of the alphabetical keyboard into a numeric keypad.

He pulled a picture frame to one side, revealing a safe behind. Chang pressed four buttons on the keypad… …and the safe door whirred open.

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

A small board with keys primarily used for tactile input into a machine.


hunt-and-peck

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hunt-and-peck.wav

When individuals type information into an automatic teller machine or enter a password to open a lock, they simply push a sequence of keys. They first find the key on the keypad and then push it with the index finger on their dominant hand until all the keys are pressed. Children and adults tend to use this hunt-and-peck method when they encounter an unfamiliar keypad.

2003, Janet E. Davidson, Robert J. Sternberg, editors, The Psychology of Problem Solving, Cambridge University Press, page 68:

Describing a method of typing used by a person unfamiliar with the layout of a keyboard or keypad in which the person has to search for the keys to be pressed or struck one by one and uses one or both index fingers to operate the keys; also used to describe a typist who uses this technique.


mechanical pencil

mechanical pencil (plural mechanical pencils)

Coordinate term: mechanical eraser

(Canada, US) A pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable lead that wears away with use, designed to provide lines of constant thickness without requiring sharpening, and typically featuring a small eraser at the end opposite the tip.


pencil lead

pencil lead (countable and uncountable, plural pencil leads)

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The material (usually black or dark gray) which allows a pencil to work. Usually a mixture of graphite and smaller amounts of other material, but not actual lead.


sharpie

A Sharpie or other brand of felt-tipped marker pen.


felt-tip pen

(UK) A pen that holds quick-drying ink conveyed to a writing surface by means of a felt nib.

ֆլոմաստեր

pen that holds ink conveyed to a writing surface by a felt nib


magic marker

Genericization of the brand name Magic Marker.


post-it note

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-post-it note.wav

A small piece of paper with an adhesive strip on one side.

ورقة لاصقة

post-it (also capitalised "Post-it" as in trademark)


hole punch

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hole punch.wav

A tool that is used to make holes in stationery for ease of filing.


binder clip

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A simple device for binding a few to many sheets of paper, leaving the sheets intact; a strip of spring steel bent into the shape of an isosceles triangle with loops at the apex.


marker pen

A pen, often with a thick tip made of felt.


correction fluid

correction fluid (countable and uncountable, plural correction fluids)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-correction fluid.wav

A white, opaque fluid, applied to paper to mask textual errors; used especially to mask errors in typing so that corrections may be overtyped.


accelerator key

accelerator key (plural accelerator keys)


keycap

A two-station robotic assembly system for inserting keycaps into keyboard arrays has been designed and constructed.

If necessary, remove the keycaps to clean the switches underneath.

2003, Michael Miller, Absolute Beginner's Guide to Upgrading and Fixing Your PC:

Adding heat can cause even further damage to the keyboard. You can disassemble some keyboard models by removing the keycaps and the case screws...

2007, Glen E Clarke, Ed Tetz, CompTIA A+ Certification All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies:

The part of a key (on a keyboard) that is pressed by the user, as opposed to any electromechanical unit underneath.


overtype

overtype (countable and uncountable, plural overtypes)

Coordinate term: undertype

(historical, countable) A kind of steam wagon having the engine above the cab.


home row

The keys in the center row of a typewriter or computer keyboard on which the index fingers to little fingers of a typist's hands rest when not typing. On a standard qwerty keyboard, the home row is made up of the keys ASDF for the typist's left hand, and JKL; for the right hand.


chiclet keyboard

chiclet keyboard (plural chiclet keyboards)

From Chiclets (itself from chicle), a brand of chewing gum bearing some resemblance to the keys.

At the best of times it's difficult to type on a chiclet keyboard.

1984 February, Popular Mechanics, volume 161, number 2:

The chiclet keyboard and single-line LED display do not permit rapid data entry and text editing...

1985, Linda Gail Christie, The Simon and Schuster guide to computer peripherals:

[…] clamshell-like devices with a tiny chiclet keyboard, a stylus for selecting and pointing, and a black-and-white Windows 95-like user interface.

2002, Paul B Thurrott, Windows XP home networking:

(computing, informal) Any of various early computer keyboards having an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys.


typebar

The speedy, well-engineered Underwood was eventually so successful that within a couple of decades, the vast majority of typewriters followed its model: They were single-shift, frontstroke, typebar typewriters with four-bank QWERTY keyboards, inked by a ribbon.

2018, Mark J. P. Wolf, The Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence:

In some typewriters, an arm actuated by pressing the keys that carried the type to strike the ribbon to form a letter.


modifier key

Ctrl, Alt, and Shift are the modifier keys on a typical modern keyboard.

(computing) A key (on a computer keyboard) that may be pressed simultaneously with certain other keys to activate predefined functions.


keycode

(computing) A code that represents a keypress.

näppäinkoodi

computing: code that represents a keypress


rastrum

Learned borrowing from Latin rāstrum (“rake”).

lbor

A five-pointed writing implement used to draw parallel lines of a staff in sheet music.


multistrike

(of an ink ribbon in a typewriter or printer) Capable of producing multiple impressions from the same segment of ribbon.


thumbboard

Blend of thumb + keyboard. By surface analysis, thumb + board.

A small keyboard designed to be operated with the thumbs, as on smartphones.


QWERTYUIOP

From the top row of letters on a QWERTY keyboard.

There follows a certain amount of irrelevant material condemning the QWERTYUIOP keyboard. It's not that it isn't true: we all know that not only is QWERTYUIOP not optimum for touch typing, but that it was designed that way!

1984, Jerry [Eugene] Pournelle, The Users Guide to Small Computers (Pournelle Users Guide; #1), New York, N.Y.: Baen Enterprises, →ISBN, page 66:

In the case of the QWERTYUIOP keyboard, specifically, the obvious questions to pursue are (1) why this particular keyboard letter arrangement came about in the first place (rather than something else), and (2) how it (rather than something else) came to dominate, or became apparently 'locked-in'.

1997, Tony Lawson, “Illustration”, in Economics and Reality, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 249:

Oscar had been assured many times that the venerable QWERTYUIOP keyboard design would never, ever be replaced. Supposedly, this was due to a phenomenon called "technological lock-in." QWERTYUIOP was a horribly bad design for a keyboard—in fact, QWERTYUIOP was deliberately designed to hamper typists—but the effort required to learn it was so crushing that people would never sacrifice it.

1998 December, Bruce Sterling, Distraction: A Novel (Bantam Spectra Book), New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books; Bantam mass market edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, October 1999, page 382


dead key

A special modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard, typically used to attach a specific diacritic to another character.


qwerty syndrome

Named after the QWERTY keyboard layout, a popular standard despite not necessarily being the most optimal.

Nowhere is the QWERTY syndrome stronger than in computers […]

2000, Jason Kroll, “Readers' Choice Awards”, in Linux Journal:

(idiomatic, computing, technology) The condition of favoring entrenched and inferior technologies or practices over superior ones.


kezboard

From keyboard, with z taking the place of y (as it does on such keyboards).

(computing, slang) A computer keyboard whose keys are arranged in the qwertz layout.


gel pen

A pen which uses ink in which pigment is suspended in a water-based gel.


double-shot

en-verb

double-shot (third-person singular simple present double-shots, present participle double-shotting, simple past and past participle double-shotted)

double-shots (present singular third-person)
double-shotting (participle present)
double-shotted (participle past)
double-shotted (past)

The Indomitable raked the frigate’s stern with double-shotted guns.

The boarding-nettings were up, the guns double-shotted with grape and canister, and the swivels loaded with canisters of musket-balls.

1838, [Edgar Allan Poe], chapter XX, in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, pages 165–166:

(transitive, military) To load (a cannon) with twice the shot, for increased damage at the expense of range.


frindle

Coined by Andrew Clements in his 1996 children's novel of the same name.


bulldog clip

Possibly a reference to the tenacity of a bulldog’s bite. Regarding sense 1 (“binder clip with rigid handles”), Bulldog was originally a trademark registered to Brandsley Limited in the United Kingdom in 1944.

We need to remind children that magnetic compasses will be deflected from the north reading if near metal – for example a car, a metal bulldog clip on a clipboard, or a metal bar under a table.

1996, Marcia Foley, Jan Janikoun, The Really Practical Guide to Primary Geography (Really Practical Guides), 2nd edition, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Stanley Thornes, published 2002, →ISBN, page 83:

If weight carriers are not available use a strong bulldog clip with a pot attached to it by thread going through the hole. Clip this to the sheet of paper and gradually add weights to the pot. The bulldog clip sometimes slips off the paper, so wrap the end of the paper around a pencil and the bulldog clip will grip this.

2000, “The Properties of Materials and Their Everyday Uses”, in Colin Osborne, Maria Pack, editors, compiled by Jan Rees, That’s Chemistry!: A Resource for Primary School Teachers about Materials and Their Properties, London: Royal Society of Chemistry, →ISBN, part A (Grouping and Classifying Materials), page 15:

A twist of ribbon, a wine cork, a bunch of diplomats' calling cards held together with a bulldog clip.

2001, John le Carré [pseudonym; David John Moore Cornwell], The Constant Gardener, London: Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Scribner, 2005, →ISBN, page 57:

Sketching galaxies and nebulae at the eyepiece, in low light levels, is no easy matter. A small torch can be used but that leaves one less hand free, so it's quite common to use a stiff plywood or plastic board to fasten the paper and light to – possibly with bulldog clips or clothes pegs.

2001, Grant Privett, Paul Parsons, “Deep-sky Observing”, in The Deep-sky Observer’s Year: A Guide to Observing Deep-sky Objects throughout the Year (Patrick Moore’s Practical Astronomy Series), London, Berlin: Springer Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN, part I (Preparing for Deep-sky Observing), page 35:

When filled, a bulldog clip-forceps on the india-rubber tube, close to the canula, will prevent the escape of the water on transferring the syringe to position.

1886, Harrison Cripps, “TRANSFUSION”, in edited by Christopher Heath, Dictionary of Practical Surgery […], volumes II (Macroglossia–Zygoma), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 660, column 1:

Objections to the bulldog clip are that, in students' hands at least, it is more likely to do damage and lead to clotting than is the thread-loop, and that, on account of its small size and liability to be left by the student in the wound, it is apt to be lost, e.g. thrown away with the carcase when the tables are cleared after the class-meeting. A recurrent item of expense in working the class is avoided by dispensing with the bulldog clip.

1919, C[harles] S[cott] Sherrington, “Appendix”, in Mammalian Physiology: A Course of Practical Exercises, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press; Humphrey Milford, →OCLC, page 142:

The ligated vessel is pulled through the cannula and a bulldog clip is placed below the ligature.

1938, Corneille Heymans, “Blood Vessel Anastomosis with Payr Cannulae and without Anticoagulant, in Acute Experiments”, in Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, volume 38, New York, N.Y.: Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 416:

A bulldog clip can be placed on the artery to produce temporary exclusion when an assessment of the anatomy and ischemic line is needed.

2017, Mark Halls, David Martinez-Cecilia, Salvatore Barbaro, Mohammad Abu Hilal, “Laparoscopic Left Lateral Sectionectomy”, in Miguel A. Cuesta, editor, Minimally Invasive Surgery for Upper Abdominal Cancer, Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, part V (Liver Tumors), page 310, column 1:

(surgery) A surgical instrument with serrated jaws and a spring-loaded handle used to grip blood vessels or similar organs.


scancode

(computing) A numeric code transmitted by a computer keyboard to indicate which keys are currently being pressed.


colored pencil

(American spelling) A pencil with a wax-like colored core.


carpenter's pencil

en-noun

carpenter's pencil (plural carpenters' pencils)

(woodworking, carpentry) A pencil specifically designed for the requirements of a carpenter: oval shape makes it less likely to roll away, and thick graphite facilitates drawing on rough surfaces.


typeball

A ball in a typewriter or early printer that bears the physical characters on its surface and is moved mechanically in order to print them onto the page.


typewheel

A wheel in an early telegraph or typewriter that bears the physical characters on its periphery and is used to print them onto the page.


ball pen

→ Japanese: ボールペン

→ Korean: 볼펜 (bolpen)

desc

→ Burmese: ဘောပင် (bhau:pang), ဘောလ်ပင် (bhaulpang)

→ Tagalog: bolpen

(Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, Philippines) Short for ballpoint pen.


china pencil

A wax-based pencil used for writing on shiny surfaces.


chinagraph

His chinagraph pencil was clenched between his teeth as he listened with a look of furious concentration to the disc on the playback turntable, as if divining his future there.

2018, Kate Atkinson, Transcription, →ISBN, page 182:


inkbrush

A brush used in Chinese calligraphy and painting.


color pencil

(American spelling) alternative form of colored pencil


Sharpie

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Sharpie.wav

A brand of pointed permanent markers used primarily for labeling items in boldface, signing autographs, etc.


butterfly keyboard

en-noun

butterfly keyboard (plural butterfly keyboards)

* (keyboard with separate halves): From the resemblance to a butterfly with outstretched wings.
* (keyboard with scissor switches): From the approximately resemblance of each (X-shaped) switch to a butterfly.

(computing) A kind of computer keyboard consisting of two separate halves, intended to facilitate typing with two hands.


tenkeyless

(computing, of a keyboard) Lacking a numeric keypad.


tenkey

From ten + key; the numeric keypad includes keys for the ten digits.

(computing) The numeric keypad portion of a computer keyboard.


lead pencil

Graphite was once thought to be a form of lead.


rapidograph

From the brand name of a technical pen introduced by Rotring in the 1950s, presumably rapid + -o- + -graph.


technical pen

A specialized ink pen with a cylindrical point used by an engineer, architect, or drafter to make lines of constant width for architectural, engineering, or technical drawings.

рапидо́граф

specialized ink pen with a cylindrical point used to make lines of constant width


space-cadet keyboard

space-cadet keyboard (plural space-cadet keyboards)

(computing) A style of computer keyboard, traditionally used on MIT Lisp machines, equipped with seven modifier keys and three shift keys, arranged to facilitate chording.


qalam

Borrowed from Arabic قَلَم (qalam, “pen”), derived from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos, “reed”). Doublet of calamus.

The slender form of the reed pen—the qalam has frequently been compared to the thin, vertical stroke of the alif (Figure 1), the first letter of the Arabic alphabet and therefore the beginning of transmitted knowledge.

1980, Anthony Welch, Islamic calligraphy: Meaning and symbol, Processing of Visible Language, pages 157-176


Qwerty

[…] The Dvorak typewriter keyboard is, it has been claimed, ergonomically superior to the standard "Qwerty" arrangement. But having settled on the current standard keyboard, largely by historical accident, now manufacturers are supposedly reluctant to produce Dvorak keybboards so long as almost all typists are trained on Qwerty, while typists don't want to train on Dvorak when almost all keyboards are Qwerty. Even the inferior keyboard as a matched choice is superior to failing to coordinate at all.

1992, Jack Hirshleifer, John G. Riley, “Strategic Uncertainty and Equilibrium Concepts”, in The Analytics of Uncertainty and Information (Cambridge Surveys of Economic Literature), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published 2002, →ISBN, section 9.1 (Nash Equilibrium), page 330:


leadholder

A simple mechanical pencil that uses individual leads that eventually need replacing.


memory typewriter

memory typewriter (plural memory typewriters)

An electronic typewriter capable of storing a limited amount of text in memory.


kneaded eraser

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-kneaded eraser.wav

A tool made from pliable material resembling putty or chewing gum that is used to absorb graphite or charcoal.

hiilikumi

pliable tool for absorbing graphite or charcoal


Nikko

From a brand name of popular felt-tip pens in Australia.

A time line had been drawn in a bright red Nikko across the entire length of the board, indicating her movements from when she left the Leagues Club to when she was found dead in the shed.

2010, Robyn J. Geiger, The Dead Shed, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 87:

I picked it up and smiled when I saw a message scrawled across the mug in black Nikko.

2014, Kelly Carrero, Contained (Evolution Series Book 5):

The headline read TANNER STONE, A MAN BIGGER THAN THE MYTH. And, lower down, there was a ring of bright red Nikko around the very last sentence.

2016, Amy Andrews, Playing By Her Rules, Entangled: Brazen

(Australia, usually Queensland, informal) A felt-tip pen, of the Nikko brand or of any other brand, or the marks left by such a pen.


TV typewriter

(computing, historical) A kind of video terminal that could be used with a standard television set.


slate pencil

(Australia) A hard, grey coloured, aniseed flavoured, sugar-based confectionery in the shape of a rod or stick.


Colemak

Blend of Coleman + Dvorak, from the name of its inventor, Shai Coleman, and in reference to the earlier Dvorak keyboard layout.

(computing) A keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets, somewhat similar to the QWERTY layout, but placing the most frequently used letters of the English language on the home row.


dye-sub

dye-sub keycaps


stylographic pen

stylographic pen (plural stylographic pens)

A stylograph, a pen that applies ink in a line of relatively uniform width via a narrow tube with the flow of ink regulated by a fine wire inside the tube, now used principally for technical drawings.


ortholinear

(computing, of a keyboard) Having keys that are aligned in a perfect grid.

In the human fetus as well as in the eye of the infant a delicate ortholinear central canal was similarly in evidence; however, the canal could not be demonstrated in the eye of adult humans.

1967, Karl Hruby, Adolph Posner, Slitlamp Examination of Vitreous and Retina, page 30:

The course of the fistula was ortholinear and caudally directed.

1971, Excerpta Medica: Pediatrics - Volume 25, page 341:

When monocytes are placed in a gradient of formyl-methiornyl-leucyl-phenalanine (FMLP), their velocity increased two to threefold, the percent of observation time spent remaining stationary decreased to 5% and locomotion was much more ortholinear.

1979, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Annual Report, Director of Medical Research, page 162:

When a crystal formation involves a cell that is similar but angled within its cage, the Bravais lattic projects the angled cell from well-defined points in an outlying ortholinear grid, as in the illustration.

2001, George L. Hersey, The Monumental Impulse: Architecture's Biological Roots, page 14:

Each object—square, rectangle, or ortholinear river—receives a particular pattern of mountain and valley creases, as shown in Figure 12.38.

2012, Robert J. Lang, Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art, page 453:

Having all turns occurring at right angles.

Then it must be borne in mind that Binet's original scale was in terms of years and months, but it yielded no ortholinear values so that score differences could be seen at a glance for the purpose of comparison.

1964, Abraham Aaron Roback, History of American Psychology, page 460:

As is known in seismology , the magnitude frequency relation of earthquakes is ortholinear on a bilogarithmical scale and is characterized by the angle coefficient y.

1967, Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, page 65:

Nomography is the art or science of constructing graphs that enable a dependent variable to be determined by the use of ortholinear projections given the values of one or more independent variables.

1978, Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports, page 1646:

Finally, ortholinear copulas with a given diagonal section are copulas that are linear on line segments perpendicular to the main diagonal of the unit square.

2012, Salvatore Greco, Bernadette Bouchon-Meunier, Giulianella Coletti, Advances in Computational Intelligence, page 175:

Forming a line when plotted on a set of orthogonal axes.

Besides, the facts not only do not require, they do not warrant, the Hegelian hypothesis of an ortholinear progressive development in the whole history of humanity.

1906, The Decennial Publications of the University of Chicago, page 263:

This rather ortholinear view of development is widely held, and it is, of course, widely believed to be in harmony with the evolutionary facts.

1976, Mary E. Ragland, Ellie Ragland-Sullivan, Rabelais and Panurge, page 93:

Most researchers, at least in the recent past, have held implicit developmental schemes in mind when using the term "primitive,” even though it has been shown that, for example, biological evolution is neither ortholinear nor unilinear.

2004, Jacob Kẹhinde Olupona, Jacob O. Olupona, Beyond Primitivism, page 52:

Defining progress as one-dimensional, so that change is either a progression, a regression, or a neutral step to the side.

A precise chronological structure and a rigorous spatial order form the foundation of the text's ortholinear narration.

1994, Eva Martin Sartori, Dorothy Wynne Zimmerman, French Women Writers, page 427:

Parayil (1999), therefore, argued that technological transition may best be described as an ortholinear or directional variation, characterised by a selective retention process adapted to a sequential process of variation and selection, while Dosi (1982: 161) concluded that "technological paradigms and trajectories are in some respects metaphors of the interplay between continuity and ruptures" in transitional processes.

2007, Geoffrey Alan Wilson, Multifunctional Agriculture: A Transition Theory Perspective, page 50:

That process is a wandering one, Montalbetti argues, rather than a strictly ortholinear one.

2008, Warren F. Motte, Fiction Now: The French Novel in the Twenty-first Century, page 185:

What they found was so bizarre that any attempt to describe what they learned in the ortholinear mode, i.e., traditional writing such as I am using now, did more to distort than to clarify what they saw.

2015, Eugene W. Etheridge, Millennium Sunset:

Moving in one direction, in which each step leads to the next.


blind typewriter

blind typewriter (plural blind typewriters)

Synonym of upstrike (“a kind of typewriter”)


upstrike

(often attributive) A kind of early typewriter whose typebar falls back into position under gravity after typing each character, with the disadvantage that typed characters are not immediately visible.


bucky bit

The term was invented at Stanford and is based on Swiss computer scientist Niklaus Wirth's nickname of Bucky. Wirth suggested this keyboard feature in the mid-1960s.

(computing) A bit (binary digit) in the binary representation of a text character that is set by means of a modifier key on the keyboard, allowing numerous characters to be produced by different combinations of keypresses.


microtypewriter

Most people prefer to use self-adhesive labels with a microtypewriter. If enough information cannot be put on one label another can be used on a different surface of the slide mount.

1981, Helen P. Harrison, Picture Librarianship, page 79:

A very small typewriter used for typing on labels, file cards, etc.


touch pen

If possible, a touch pen on the HP48sx screen is better than a 'MoUsE' ball under the HP48sx.

1992 April 14, $li...@brandonu.ca, “Wish list, touch screen and pen based HP48sx!!!!!”, in comp.sys.hp48 (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-19:

Where is the touchpen? Does the lack of a touchpen indicate the gcpp doesn't have touchscreen capabilities? How does this affect ClassiCom game compatability?

1998 May 19, Steven L Cox, “Hello...”, in alt.games.video.tiger.game-com (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-19:

As much as I love the game, I feel that the DS' touch pen is kinda big for that game. Any good suggestions to better touch pens?

2005 August 16, Amund Trovåg, “Better touch pen for Meteos?”, in rec.games.video.nintendo (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-19:


frontstroke

Coordinate term: understroke

The speedy, well-engineered Underwood was eventually so successful that within a couple of decades, the vast majority of typewriters followed its model: They were single-shift, frontstroke, typebar typewriters with four-bank QWERTY keyboards, inked by a ribbon.

2018, Mark J. P. Wolf, The Routledge Companion to Media Technology and Obsolescence:

Of a typewriter: having typebars that are arranged in an arc above the keyboard and swing upward to strike the front of the platen.


keeb

Just finished building my first keeb; how does it look?

He decided it was time to slip into something bit more ergonomic and settled on building an Iris — a small split keeb with an ortholinear (non-staggered) key arrangement.

2020 July 23, Kristina Panos, “Ergo Keyboard Build Issue Becomes Crystal Clear”, in Hackaday, archived from the original on 2022-10-25:

And now that I’m into mechanical keyboards, including customizing them, I’ve had to craft a cleaning routine to ensure every keeb in my vicinity is always ready for its closeup.

2021 August 6, Florence Ion, “It's Time to Clean Your Disgusting Mechanical Keyboard”, in Gizmodo, archived from the original on 2022-12-05:

The key benefit of a smaller keeb is that your mouse and WSAD hands are closer together, and switching the numpad to the left means you still get to use the extra buttons and the extra desktop real estate for your gaming rodent.

2022 April 19, Dave James, “Mountain Everest 60 gaming keyboard review”, in PC Gamer, archived from the original on 2023-01-02:

The keeb has been knocked down to very near its lowest price yet, with it running you £63.99 at the moment, providing a 20 percent discount on the £79.99 list price, and for it, you're getting a rather capable keyboard, it must be said.

2022 September 13, Reece Bithrey, “Nab a popular 60% mechanical keyboard for under £65 on Amazon right now”, in Eurogamer, archived from the original on 2022-09-13:

(computing, slang) Clipping of keyboard.


file folder

(stationery) A kind of folder that holds papers together for organization and protection.


mechanical eraser

mechanical eraser (plural mechanical erasers)

Coordinate term: mechanical pencil

(stationery) An eraser in the style of a pen that can be retracted and extended to control its length.


letter-size

Of a sheet of paper, that measures 8½ inches by 11 inches.

(of stationery) Designed for holding or storing sheets of paper of this size.