Minor technical problems or malfunctions, especially in computers or electronic systems; sudden unexpected failures.
From Yiddish 'glitsh' meaning 'slippery' or 'to slip.' The word was adopted into English in the 1960s by technicians and engineers working on space programs who needed a word for small, unpredictable electronic failures.
The word 'glitch' became famous during the Apollo space program when technicians used it to describe tiny, temporary computer errors—it's one of the few Yiddish words that's completely taken over English tech vocabulary, showing how immigrant communities shaped technical language.
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