Keystroking

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of entering information or commands into a computer by pressing down keys on a keyboard is essential for data communication and programming tasks
2. The action of pressing keys on a keyboard to input text or commands into a computer
3. The process of using finger movements to operate keyboard keys for entering data

Etymology: "Keystroking" is the present participle and gerund of "keystroke," a compound built from "key" and "stroke." The noun "keystroke" is the older building block: it names a single press of a key on a keyboard, and "keystroking" is the activity made from repeatedly performing that action. Both parts are plain English words with long histories of their own. "Key" comes from an Old English word for the metal implement that turns a lock, while "stroke" descends from an Old English word meaning a blow or a movement of the hand. Joined together, they describe the act of striking a key, a meaning that only became sensible once typewriters and then computer keyboards made pressing keys the usual way of producing text. Since the word is a transparent compound with a suffix added to it, its history is largely a matter of how the two parts came together rather than any dramatic shift in meaning. Its value to a reader is in seeing how ordinary words can merge to name a new kind of physical action.

Synonyms: typing, inputting