Keypunching

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of using a machine to punch holes in cards representing data for processing
2. Inputting information into computer systems by creating punched cards through specialized equipment
3. Entering data into a system by operating a device that makes hole patterns on cards to store information

Etymology: Punched cards were once the main way of feeding information into computers, and "keypunching" names the job of typing data onto them. The work was done on a keypunch, a machine with a keyboard that, when a key was pressed, punched holes in the correct pattern into a stiff card. Each character was encoded as a combination of holes, so an operator's keystrokes became physical data the machine could read. The word is a simple compound of "key" and "punch," two plain English words that describe exactly what the machine did: a key was struck, and a punch made the hole. Nothing in the term is borrowed or disguised, which is why its meaning is easy to read from its parts. The name stayed with the activity even as the cards themselves were replaced by other input methods.