Viewports

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A distinct section of a graphical interface where specific content is displayed and can be interacted with, providing a focus point for user engagement
2. A bounded region within software or web design that presents visual elements and allows user interaction with those elements in a manageable way
3. Separate areas on a screen that display specific content and allow user interaction

Etymology: "Viewports" is the plural of "viewport," a compound of "view" and "port." The "port" in this sense is the older meaning of an opening or aperture, such as a porthole in a ship's side or a window in a wall, which lets someone look through. A viewport was therefore literally a window through which a view could be seen, long before the word described anything on a screen. The term was carried over to computing, where it came to name a rectangular region of a display, typically a window or a part of one, in which graphics or content are drawn. The same image of a framed opening onto a larger scene still applies: the viewport shows a portion of a bigger virtual space, and the user looks through it. The word is a transparent compound, so its parts explain its meaning directly.

Synonyms: windows, panes, views, screens, openings