keypunchern.
/ˈkiːˌpʌn(t)ʃə/, U.S. /ˈkiˌpən(t)ʃər/ Now chiefly historical.
1. A person who operates or uses a keypunch.
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society > computing and information technology > hardware > secondary storage > [noun] > punch card or tape > punching device > operator of
keypuncher1967
1898 Stenographer Feb. 31 The key-puncher in the next room was advertising himself out in the elevator.
1922 Amer. Printer & Lithographer 5 Feb. 59/2 (heading) Keypunchers dance and dine.
1967 N. S. M. Cox & M. W. Grose Organization Bibliogr. Rec. by Computer 144 The keypuncher should transcribe this.
1998 P. E. Ceruzzi Hist. Mod. Computing iv. 119 Although stored-program computers were now processing the returns, the first step in the process was still keypunchers entering data from returns onto punched cards.
2. = keypunch n. 2.
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society > computing and information technology > hardware > secondary storage > [noun] > punch card or tape > punching device
hand punch1803
keypunch1903
summary punch1934
tape punch1947
keypuncher1965
1914 Cycl. Appl. Electr. VII. 331 A key puncher was also used which prepared tape with holes in two rows.
1965 L. E. Foster Telemetry Syst. iv. 224 The semi-automatic area consists of..two oscillograph readers with six associated card punchers, 13 key punchers, four verifiers, [etc.].
1999 Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch (Nexis) 19 Apr. b3 Bryant has seen the county population double and computer-generated tax bills replace those from loud, clanking data-processing keypunchers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1898