me_irl

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Me_irl (lemmy.nz)

submitted 1 month ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to c/me_irl@lemmy.world

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[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

The -ette in cassette and diskette is a diminutive suffix. Cassette means little box. Casse is French for box. And thus Diskette means little disk, not disk in a protective case. IBM introduced the term to mean floppy disks smaller than their 8” floppy disks

https://www.etymonline.com/word/cassette

https://www.etymonline.com/word/diskette

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

Cassette is a French word, diskette is not. It even says that in your links. IBM used the word for the 8in floppies too. It’s a portmanteau of disk and cassette because IBM already made hard drives and these were portable and looked a little like a photography cassette.