compute
/kəmˈpjut/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.41 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To make sense. (commonly used in mimicry of a science fictional robot and spoken in a robotic voice; most frequently in negative constructs)
Informal; Intransitive verb
noun
Computational processing power (number of operations per unit of time) or computational work (to be) done (number of operations).
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Can anyone here compute the square root of 10201?"
- "Effulgence of my Glorie, Son belov’d, / Son in whoſe face inviſible is beheld / Viſibly, what by Deitie I am, / And in whoſe hand what by Decree I doe, / Second Omnipotence, two dayes are paſt, / Two dayes, as we compute the dayes of Heav’n, / Since Michael and his Powers went forth to tame / Theſe diſobedient[…]"
- ""When we have ascertained exactly how little will serve we shall be able to compute how long we shall be able to exist.""
- "Coxhead (2000) computed that the AWL covered approximately 10% of the academic corpus from which it was derived[.]"
- "Does that compute, or do I need to explain further?"
- "Then at the last minute Harris was brought aboard as Dr. Zachary Smith, initially an authentic, lip-curling nogoodnik who, it was presently discovered, could be better used for laughs played off Mumy and a sober-sided robot (“You bubbleheaded booby,” sneers Harris. “That does not compute,” returns the robot dryly)."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin putus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin putō Latin computō Latin computārelbor. French computerbor. English compute 17th century. Borrowed from French computer, from Latin computō (“calculate, compute”). Doublet of count.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kəmˈpjut/
- British English: /kəmˈpjuːt/