Vapourware

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈveɪ.pə.wɛə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A label for products that are promoted but not launched, indicating software or hardware that is claimed to be in development yet fails to be realized
2. It refers to the concept of technology that is revealed to the public without ever becoming available, representing unfulfilled promises in the tech industry
3. Technology products that have been publicly promoted but never actually released for use

Etymology: Vapourware is a compound of "vapour" and "-ware", and the second half is the surprising part. The "-ware" element comes from Old English "waru", meaning goods or merchandise, the same root that gives "wares" in the sense of things for sale. That is why software, hardware and firmware all end in it, and vapourware is simply a product that exists only as an insubstantial cloud of hype: all talk, no goods. The first half is the more literal image. "Vapour" traces back through Old French to Latin "vapor", meaning steam or breath, and its sense of something insubstantial, like a mist that promises much and delivers nothing, is the basis of the joke. The term became a commonplace label for announced software and hardware that never reached shelves, so a product you can only see as a promise is, quite literally, a steam-thin ware.