A lightweight execution unit within a process that can run concurrently with other threads, sharing the same memory space but maintaining its own execution stack. Threads enable multitasking within a single program.
From Old English 'þræd' meaning a spun fiber. In computing, the metaphor emerged in the 1960s, likening the execution path of a program to a thread that can be woven together with others to create a more complex fabric (program).
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