floppy disk

/FLOP-ee disk/ · noun · Hacker Culture · Origin: 1971

Definitions

  1. A removable magnetic storage medium enclosed in a flexible (8" and 5.25") or rigid (3.5") plastic shell. Despite holding a maximum of 1.44 MB in its final common format, the floppy disk was the primary means of software distribution and file transfer for two decades. Its icon persists as the universal 'save' symbol.

    In plain English: A small, flat disk used to store and carry computer files before USB drives existed — the reason the 'save' icon looks the way it does.

    Example: The entire original Doom game shipped on four floppy disks, and you had to swap them during installation.

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