In computing, an abnormal termination or crash of a program or computer system, particularly on mainframe systems.
From German 'Abend' (evening) or American technical jargon 'abnormal end,' abbreviated to 'abend.' The term originated in IBM mainframe computing in the mid-20th century.
Programmers called system crashes 'abends' as tech slang, and the German-sounding term stuck around long after mainframes became obsolete—a quirk of computing culture that keeps dead languages alive.
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