English
keepalivekeepalive
From keep + alive.
A compound of keep + alive
Proto-Indo-European *ǵab-
Proto-Germanic *kōpijaną ‘to look’
Proto-West Germanic *kōpijan
Old English cēpan ‘to seize’
Middle English kepen ‘to keep’
English keep
Proto-Germanic *lībą ‘body’
Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’
Old English līf ‘life’
Old English on līfe
Middle English alyve ‘alive’
English alive
Today it means
noun A short message sent by one device to another to check that the link between the two is operating, or to prevent this link from being broken due to inactivity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / keepalive
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