A buffer is something that protects or separates things, softening shocks or keeping them from harming each other. In computing, it is a temporary storage area that holds data while it is being moved.
From Old French “buffe,” meaning “a blow or slap,” possibly imitative of a hitting sound. A “buffer” originally meant something that absorbed blows.
Whether it’s a shock absorber on a train or a pause in a video, a buffer always stands in the middle and takes the hit. Streaming “buffering” is your device quietly building a safety cushion of data so the show doesn’t stutter.
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