Laptop Was Coined by Analogy With Desktop
A laptop is a portable computer. The name followed desktop, and a whole family of sizes followed both.
A laptop is a portable computer with a screen and keyboard hinged together. The name was formed by analogy with *desktop*, and a series of others followed the same pattern: palmtop, desktop, and briefly the *lap-luggable* machines of the early 1980s, which weighed more than ten kilograms and were portable only in the most generous sense.
- A portable computer. *A new laptop.*
- Laptop as a modifier. *A laptop bag.*
- Notebook — a near synonym. *A thin notebook.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | laptop | A light laptop. |
| Plural | laptops | Two laptops. |
| Related | desktop | A desktop machine. |
| Related | notebook | A slim notebook. |
| Related | tablet | A tablet computer. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The laptop replaced the desktop for most people.Computing history.
- Early portables weighed over ten kilograms.They were called luggables.
- Clamshell describes the hinged design.Screen folding onto keyboard.
Computer sizes over time
- Mainframe — filled a room
- Minicomputer — filled a cabinet
- Desktop — sat on a desk
- Laptop — sat on your lap
- Palmtop and smartphone — fitted in a hand
A compound of *lap* and *top*, formed by analogy with *desktop*, and recorded from the early 1980s.
Laptop or notebook?
They mean the same thing. Notebook was marketing language for thinner models and the distinction has largely faded.
What were luggables?
Early portable computers of the late 1970s and 1980s, which folded up into a suitcase shape but weighed over ten kilograms.