electronic devices for processing and storing data
From compute, Latin computare 'to calculate'
Revolutionized human capability and social interaction
Early computing (1940s-60s) was coded as women's work ('computers' were female mathematicians), then recoded as prestigious 'programmer' roles when men entered and industry professionalized. Women's foundational contributions (Lovelace, Hopper, ENIAC programmers) were systematized out of tech culture narratives.
Name pioneering women when discussing computing history. Recognize that technical excellence has women's fingerprints throughout.
Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, and the six ENIAC programmers (Kay McNulty, Jean Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Meltzer, Fran Bilas, Ruth Lichterman) created computer science foundations — their work should be central to computing identity, not footnoted.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.