Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,771,597,098 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

peripheral
(redirected from computer peripheral)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.

peripheral

Any input, output or storage device connected externally or internally to the computer's CPU, such as a monitor, keyboard, printer, disk, tape, graphics tablet, scanner, joy stick, paddle or mouse.


peripheral
Anatomy of, relating to, or situated near the surface of the body

peripheral [pə′rif·ə·rəl]
(anatomy)
Pertaining to or located at or near the surface of a body or an organ.
(computer science)
(science and technology)
Remote from the center; marginal; on the periphery.

(hardware)peripheral - (Or "peripheral device", "device") Any part of a computer other than the CPU or working memory, i.e. disks, keyboards, monitors, mice, printers, scanners, tape drives, microphones, speakers, cameras, to list just the less exotic ones.

High speed working memory, such as RAM, ROM or, in the old days, core would not normally be referred to as peripherals. The more modern term "device" is also more general in that it is used for things such as a pseudo-tty, a RAM drive, or a network adaptor.

Some argue that, since the advent of the personal computer, the motherboard, hard disk, keyboard, mouse, and monitor are all parts of the base system, and only use the term "peripheral" for optional additional components.


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
a leading Los Angeles, CA-based manufacturer of electronic motors for the automotive, medical, office, and computer peripheral markets, has announced the retention of Underwood Sales Corporation as exclusive representatives for SKC products throughout a six-state region of New England.
a leading Los Angeles, CA-based manufacturer of electronic motors for the automotive, medical, office, and computer peripheral markets, has announced the retention of Component Technology as exclusive representatives for SKC products in Texas--an important part of America's South-Central region.
Alereon's products promise to replace the complex tangle of wiring used to interconnect today's consumer electronics, computer peripheral, and mobile devices with high-bandwidth, low-power, low-cost wireless links.
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.