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Sunday, September 21, 2014

Mouse


The word “mouse” was first used in 1853 according to the New York Times database. The word was used as I thought it would be, to describe a certain type of rodent. Similarly the word first appeared in JSTOR in 1670. The article mentioned a mouse being used in a scientific experiment, again to talk about an animal. It is clear that the use of the word “mouse” has changed overtime even though it is still used in in the way it originated. As computers became more popular and widely used the term “mouse” has become the word describe the pointing device that controls the cursor on a computer screen. Although the meaning of the word has not completely changed, it has adapted a new meaning. The word is still used to talk about the little rodents that cats chase around, yet it is even adapting to replace the word cursor. Now that laptops have track pads they no longer need an actual mouse so people often times call the cursor the mouse. The progression of the word helps to illustrate the progression of technology and how society adapts along with improvements. We cater our vocabulary and slang to the important things in our lives. Due to touch screens, the word may soon regress back to only being used as it originally was because touch screens do not require cursors or a mouse.

1 comment:

  1. The pointing device that controls the cursor was called a mouse because it just looked like a mouse with a tail. Since then, they started calling it that.

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