plugboardn.
/ˈplʌɡbɔːd/, U.S. /ˈpləɡˌbɔrd/ Telecommunications and Computing.
A board containing several sockets into which plugs may be inserted to interconnect electrical circuits, telephone lines, computer components, etc., by means of short lengths of wire.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical appliances or devices > [noun] > plug-controlled switchboard
plugboard1883
society > computing and information technology > hardware > [noun] > analogue component
patch cord1938
plugboard1946
patch bay1948
patchboard1949
patch panel1952
patch-plug1962
patch lead1964
1883 4th Meeting U.S. Nat. Telephone Exchange Assoc., 1882 38 Switchboards are generally classified as ‘cord’ or ‘plug’ boards.
1946 Ann. Computation Lab. Harvard Univ. 1 21 The out-relay,..through which the product is read out of the multiply unit, connects to the buss through a plugboard provided to fix the decimal point relation between the product counter and the buss.
1957 D. D. McCracken Digital Computer Programming 231 A number of the small machines are controlled by a removable plugboard.
1987 B. Leatham-Jones Elements Industr. Robotics i. 15 Locating pins are first arranged plug-board fashion (by the robot) to allow the electrical cables forming the harness to be threaded between them according to a pre-determined route.
1993 A. Stripp in F. H. Hinsley & A. Stripp Codebreakers xi. 85 The vertical front of the Enigmas used by the Armed Services contained a ‘plugboard’ with 26 pairs of sockets, again in the QWERTZU pattern.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1883