desktop
English meaning: Desktop
Definition
The top surface of a desk.
Example
“She saved the file to her desktop so she could find it easily.”
Another example: “For heavy video editing, a powerful desktop is better than a laptop.”
Usage — When, Where & How
The main screen of a computer's graphical interface ('on your desktop'); also a desktop computer ('a desktop, not a laptop'); and the literal top of a desk. Neutral to technical register; the computing senses are very common.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
A compound of 'desk' + 'top'; the computing sense from the late 1970s, modelling the screen on a physical desk surface.
Related Words
Common Collocations
- desktop computer
- desktop background
- desktop icon
- on the desktop
- desktop application
- remote desktop
Word Forms
desktop (n); desktops (pl)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B