me_irl

8163 readers

1068 users here now

All posts need to have the same title: me_irl it is allowed to use an emoji instead of the underscore _

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

herrwoland@lemmy.world

841

Me_irl (lemmy.today)

submitted 1 month ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to c/me_irl@lemmy.world

88 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Diskette comes from cassette which had been used in photography long before describing tapes and just meant that it had a built in protective case.

[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The -ette in cassette and diskette is a diminutive suffix. Cassette means little box. Casse is French for box. And thus Diskette means little disk, not disk in a protective case. IBM introduced the term to mean floppy disks smaller than their 8” floppy disks

https://www.etymonline.com/word/cassette

https://www.etymonline.com/word/diskette

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Cassette is a French word, diskette is not. It even says that in your links. IBM used the word for the 8in floppies too. It’s a portmanteau of disk and cassette because IBM already made hard drives and these were portable and looked a little like a photography cassette.