Hardware

How to spell hardware

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce hardware

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hardware mean?

1. nounThe physical components of a computer or electronic system, as opposed to the software that runs on it.
2. nounDurable metal goods such as tools, fittings, fasteners, and household implements.

Hardware in a sentence

• The new application runs slowly because the office hardware is outdated.

• He bought screws and hinges from the local hardware shop.

• Upgrading the hardware added more memory and a faster processor.

• The cabinet came with all the mounting hardware included in the box.

Where does hardware come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, joining two Old English words: 'hard', from Old English 'heard' meaning firm or solid, and 'ware', from Old English 'waru' meaning goods or merchandise. From the 1500s 'hardware' described durable metal goods such as tools, nails, locks, and pots, the sort of solid items sold in an ironmonger's or hardware shop, in contrast to soft cloth goods. With the rise of computing in the mid twentieth century the word was borrowed for the physical, tangible parts of a machine, deliberately set against 'software', the programs that run on it. Because both halves are common everyday words spelled exactly as they sound, the compound holds no spelling surprises; the only point to remember is that it is written as a single solid word, not 'hard ware'.

How the word is built

• hard (firm, solid)
• ware (manufactured goods, merchandise)