Small pieces broken off from something larger, or thin slices of potato fried until crisp, or semiconductor devices containing integrated circuits.
From Middle English 'chippen' meaning 'to cut, chop,' related to 'chap' (to crack). The potato meaning emerged in 19th century, while 'microchip' is from 1970s technology.
The first potato chips were invented in 1853 by George Crum at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs when a customer complained his fries were too thick. Computer chips got their name because early semiconductors were literally chipped from larger silicon wafers.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.