English
computer
From compute + -er.
A compound of compute + -er
Latin putus
Latin putō ‘to clean, cleanse’
Latin computō ‘calculate, compute’
Latin computāre
French computer ‘to compute’
English compute
The story
The sense referring to people first appears c. 1613 in the works of the poet Richard Brathwait. The sense referring to a machine first appears c. 1897 in the magazine Engineering.
Today it means
noun A programmable electronic device that performs mathematical calculations and logical operations, especially one that can process, store and retrieve large amounts of data very quickly; now especially, a small one for personal or home use employed for manipulating text or graphics, accessing the Internet, or playing games or media.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / computer