A multimedia player software application developed by RealNetworks, popular in the 1990s for streaming audio and video.
Compound of 'real' (suggesting authentic, live content) and 'player' (software that plays media files). Created in 1995 during the early days of internet multimedia streaming.
RealPlayer was revolutionary for bringing live audio streaming to dial-up internet users, but it became notorious for its aggressive advertising and difficulty in uninstalling, leading to the term 'bloatware'. It pioneered the concept of buffering and introduced millions to the frustration of 'buffering... please wait' messages.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.