English
fork bomb
Fork bomb comes from English fork ‘splitting-up of an existing process’.
- English1500–presentfork‘splitting-up of an existing process’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002fork bomb
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- English1500–presentfork‘splitting-up of an existing process’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002fork bomb
Earliest quotation: 2002, Philip E. N. Howard, Hacktivism: “In contrast to the wabbit's slow growth, a fork…”
Every English word from English fork
Today it means
noun A program that creates a large number of self-replicating tasks or processes in a computer system in order to cause a denial of service.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English fork / fork bomb