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I've never really thought of "bug" as being very idiomatic (at least, no more than other words). The origin of the word "bug" doesn't come from the insect sens

I've never really thought of "bug" as being very idiomatic (at least, no more than other words). The origin of the word "bug" doesn't come from the insect sense of the word. Bug has roots in a word "bogey" meaning devil. You still see its remnants in words like bugbear and bugaboo.

ranguna 5y ago
Wait.. Isn't the origin of "bug" in computer science, a literal insect stuck in one of Turing's universal machines ?
- laurieg 5y ago
  I think you're probably mis-representing the famous Grace Hopper story which is often cited as being the origin of the word bug[1]. In fact, in Hopper's notebook she even writes "First actual case of bug being found". The use of the word "actual" implies that the word bug has been used before and etymologies back this up. [1]https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/sep9/worlds-first-computer-bug/ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/sep9/worlds-first...
  - Someone 5y ago
    https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Bug_(engineering) https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Bug_(engineering): “The Middle English word bugge is the basis for the terms "bugbear" and "bugaboo" as terms used for a monster. The term "bug" to describe defects has been a part of engineering jargon since the 1870s and predates electronic computers and computer software; it may have originally been used in hardware engineering to describe mechanical malfunctions. For instance, Thomas Edison wrote the following words in a letter to an associate in 1878: It has been just so in all of my inventions. The first step is an intuition, and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise—this thing gives out and [it is] then that "Bugs"—as such little faults and difficulties are called—show themselves and months of intense watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success or failure is certainly reached.” That page also says: “The related term "debug" also appears to predate its usage in computing: the Oxford English Dictionary's etymology of the word contains an attestation from 1945, in the context of aircraft engines.”

ranguna 5y ago

Wait.. Isn't the origin of "bug" in computer science, a literal insect stuck in one of Turing's universal machines ?

laurieg 5y ago
I think you're probably mis-representing the famous Grace Hopper story which is often cited as being the origin of the word bug[1]. In fact, in Hopper's notebook she even writes "First actual case of bug being found". The use of the word "actual" implies that the word bug has been used before and etymologies back this up. [1]https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/sep9/worlds-first-computer-bug/ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/sep9/worlds-first...
- Someone 5y ago
  https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Bug_(engineering) https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Bug_(engineering): “The Middle English word bugge is the basis for the terms "bugbear" and "bugaboo" as terms used for a monster. The term "bug" to describe defects has been a part of engineering jargon since the 1870s and predates electronic computers and computer software; it may have originally been used in hardware engineering to describe mechanical malfunctions. For instance, Thomas Edison wrote the following words in a letter to an associate in 1878: It has been just so in all of my inventions. The first step is an intuition, and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise—this thing gives out and [it is] then that "Bugs"—as such little faults and difficulties are called—show themselves and months of intense watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success or failure is certainly reached.” That page also says: “The related term "debug" also appears to predate its usage in computing: the Oxford English Dictionary's etymology of the word contains an attestation from 1945, in the context of aircraft engines.”