Dithering

Dithering; to dither. I came across this word in a discussion of digital audio recording. As the participant with the least technical prowess, I had to suppress a giggle when considering the word's true meaning and origins.

An adaption of a Middle English word from around 1375, dithering first appeared in its modern context  in 1649, nearly 300 years later, meaning "to quake". This trembling motion is not limited to objects, in the late 1800s the term evolved to imply an anxious feeling expressed in conversation and movement. In my travels in the UK, I have heard this term used among young adults to describe a long, rambling speech without focus: "There she goes again, dithering about boys, her hair, her shoes."

In digital audio, dithering emerged as a technical term in the late 1950s, early 1960s. It refers to extra noise added intentionally to a track being recorded from an analog format to become stored digitally. Dithering somewhat masks the occasional inaccurate approximation of sound values. To me, this is humorous because its definition essentially incorporates useless noise, both digitally and in discussion.

What other commonplace words have made the jump to technically accepted terms? This may be an interesting point of investigation for the next entry.

Rainy UK: View from the London Eye