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Origin and history of google

google(v.)

"to search (something) on the Google search engine," 2000 (do a google on was used by 1999). The domain google.com was registered in 1997. According to the company, the name is a play on googol and reflects the "mission" of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin "to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web." The word turns up in various contexts earlier: google-eyed seems to have been a dialectal or humorous variant of goggle-eyed in 1890s and after; and a verb google was an early 20c. cricket term in reference to a type of breaking ball, from googly.

also from 2000

Entries linking to google

goggle-eyed(adj.)

late 14c., gogel-eied, "squinting; one-eyed," as a noun, "one who squints;" see goggle (v.) + -eyed.

googly

as a noun, a cricket term, 1903, of unknown origin. As an adjective, of eyes, 1901; see goo-goo.

googol(n.)

number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeroes, 1940, in "Mathematics and the Imagination," a layman's book on mathematics written by U.S. mathematicians Edward Kasner (1878-1955) and James R. Newman, the word supposedly coined a year or two before by Kasner's 9- (or 8-) year-old nephew (unnamed in the book's account of the event), when asked for a name for an enormous number. Perhaps influenced by comic strip character Barney Google. Googolplex (10 to the power of a googol) coined at the same time, in the same way, with -plex.

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    Trends of google

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    search
    c. 1300, serchen, "go through and examine carefully and in detail" (transitive), from Old French cerchier "to search" (12c., Modern French chercher), from Latin circare "go about, wander, traverse," in Late Latin "to wander hither and thither, go round, explore," from circus "cir
    chaser
    c. 1300, "horse trained for chasing," agent noun from chase (v.), probably in some cases from Old French chaceor "huntsman, hunter." The meaning "water or mild beverage taken after a strong drink" is by 1894, U.S. colloquial. French had chasse (from chasser "to chase") "a drink o
    research
    1570s, "act of searching closely" for a specific person or thing, from French recerche (1530s, Modern French recherche), back-formation from Old French recercher "seek out, search closely" (see research (v.)). The meaning "diligent scientific inquiry and investigation directed to
    explore
    1580s, "to investigate, examine," a back-formation from exploration, or else from French explorer (16c.), from Latin explorare "investigate, search out, examine, explore," said to be originally a hunters' term meaning "set up a loud cry," from ex "out" (see ex-) + plorare "to wee
    beer
    alcoholic drink made from grain (generally barley), infused with hops and boiled and fermented, Middle English ber, from Old English beor "strong drink, beer, mead," cognate with Old Frisian biar, Middle Dutch and Dutch bier, Old High German bior, German Bier; a West Germanic wor
    opportunity
    late 14c., opportunitie, "fit, convenient, or seasonable time," from Old French opportunite (13c.) and directly from Latin opportunitatem (nominative opportunitas) "fitness, convenience, suitableness, favorable time," from opportunus "fit, convenient, suitable, favorable," from t
    transgression
    late 14c., from Old French transgression "transgression," particularly that relating to Adam and the Fall (12c.), from Late Latin transgressionem (nominative transgressio) "a transgression of the law," in classical Latin, "a going over, a going across," noun of action from transg
    press
    c. 1300, presse, "a crowd, throng, company; crowding and jostling of a throng; a massing together," from Old French presse (n.) "a throng, a crush, a crowd; wine or cheese press" (11c.), from Latin pressare (see press (v.1)). Late Old English had press in the sense of "clothes pr
    judge
    c. 1200, iugen, "examine, appraise, make a diagnosis;" c. 1300, "to form an opinion about; inflict penalty upon, punish; try (someone) and pronounce sentence," also intransitive, "make a decision, decide, think, suppose;" from Anglo-French juger, Old French jugier "to judge, pron
    buck
    "male deer," c. 1300, earlier "male goat;" from Old English bucca "male goat," from Proto-Germanic *bukkon (source also of Old Saxon buck, Middle Dutch boc, Dutch bok, Old High German boc, German Bock, Old Norse bokkr), perhaps from a PIE root *bhugo (source also of Avestan buza

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    Dictionary entries near google
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