Touchpad

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A flat, touch-sensitive interface that detects finger movements to control cursor actions on computers or devices
2. A device offering a surface for users to navigate and interact with a screen through finger gestures
3. An input mechanism that allows scrolling, clicking, and other actions via direct finger contact on a smooth area

Etymology: "Touchpad" is about as transparent as compounds get: it joins "touch" and "pad," and the two parts keep their everyday senses. A pad is a flat, soft or flat-surfaced object, from the Middle English "padde," and a touchpad is simply a flat surface you touch. The name describes the device's shape and the action it responds to, rather than any mechanism inside it. The surprise lies in how little the word had to do with computers at its origin. Its parts were already common English words, so the compound needed no special invention beyond putting them together, which is why it reads so plainly today. The notable point is that the concept, a flat surface that reads finger movement, is what the name tracks, not the older use of "pad" for writing or drawing surfaces.

Synonyms: trackpad, touchscreen