information technologyn.
/ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃn tɛkˈnɒlədʒi/, U.S. /ˌɪnfərˈmeɪʃ(ə)n tɛkˈnɑlədʒi/ The branch of technology concerned with the dissemination, processing, and storage of information, esp. by means of computers. Abbreviated IT.In quot. 1952: technology used for the analysis of information.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > [noun]
communications technology1941
communication technology1950
information technology1952
computer science1956
computery1960
cyberculture1963
computerdom1968
infotech1981
IT1982
society > communication > information > [noun] > information as processed by machines > technology for disseminating information
information technology1952
IT1982
1952 Econometrica 20 499 The theory of sampling provides a mathematical description of the information technology in a form amenable to explicit calculation for classical optimality conditions.
1958 H. J. Leavitt & T. L. Whisler in Harvard Business Rev. 36 41/1 The new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology.
1979 London Rev. Bks. 25 Oct. 21/1 Attali is a French economist..who writes..studies of, for example, music (Bruits) and information technology.
1984 National Westm. Bank Q. Rev. Aug. 13 The development of cable television was made possible by the convergence of telecommunications and computing technology (..generally known in Britain as information technology).
2006 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 4 June iii. 9/1 In retailing, look at how Wal-Mart has combined information technology to set their supply chains against other people's supply chains.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1952