widget etymology

Etymology

The word "widget" is a portmanteau of the words "widge" and "gadget".

  • Widge: A 19th-century term for a small mechanical device or gadget.
  • Gadget: A small mechanical device or tool, typically one that is used for a specific purpose.

Meaning

A widget is a graphical user interface (GUI) element that provides a standardized way of displaying and interacting with information. It can be used to display data, control functions, or provide feedback to the user.

Origin

The term "widget" was first used in the early 1980s by programmers at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). They needed a generic term to refer to the various graphical elements that they were developing for the Xerox Alto, one of the first personal computers with a graphical user interface.

The term quickly spread to other programming environments, and today it is a common term for any GUI element.

widget relate terms

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