Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “middleware” come from?

Middleware derives from English soft and English software, combining soft meaning flexible or yielding with software denoting computer programs.

middleware (English): Software that functions at an intermediate layer...

Definitions

  1. Software that functions at an intermediate layer...

Ancestry of “middleware”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmiddleA centre, midpoint; The part between the...
2Middle Englishmyddel—
3Old Englishmiddelmiddle
4Proto-West Germanic*midl—
5Proto-Germanicmidląmiddle
6Proto-Germanicmidjōmiddle, midst
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmédʰyosmiddle
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmedʰi-with, among; with, along
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmein the middle of, near, by, around, with
Every word from Proto-Indo-European me →