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glitch: msg#00002culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica. http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for September 3 is: glitch \GLITCH\ noun 1 : a usually minor malfunction, defect, fault, flaw, or imperfection 2 : a minor problem that causes a temporary setback *3 : a false or spurious electronic signal Example sentence: A glitch in the program yielded some very odd results. Did you know? There's a glitch in the etymology of "glitch" -- the origins of the word are not known for sure, though it may derive from the Yiddish "glitsh," meaning "slippery place." The first documented use of "glitch" in print in English is found in astronaut John Glenn's 1962 book _Into Orbit_. In it he wrote, "Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly has a new load put on it." The word "glitch" began as a technical term, and then quickly acquired a more general sense of "minor malfunction." Later, it came to be used technically once again to describe the misbehavior of computer programs. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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