digital

English Online Dictionary. What means digital‎? What does digital mean?

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin digitālis, from digitus (“finger, toe”) + -alis (“-al”). Doublet of digitalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɪd͡ʒɪtl̩/

Adjective

digital (not comparable)

1. Having to do with digits (fingers or toes); especially, performed with a finger.

   Coordinate terms: dactylo-, fingerlike, toelike

2. Property of representing values as discrete, often binary, numbers rather than a continuous spectrum.
3. Of or relating to computers or the Information Age.

   Coordinate term: online

   Near-synonyms: computerized, electronic, digitized, virtual

Antonyms

• nondigital
• undigital
• (antonym(s) of “representing discrete values”): analog, analogue, continuous

Derived terms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → Thai: ดิจิทัล (dí-jì-tâl)
• → Persian: دیجیتال (dijitâl)

Translations

Noun

digital (countable and uncountable, plural digitals)

1. (finance) A digital option.
2. (uncountable) Digital equipment or technology.

3. Short for digital watch.
4. (informal, uncountable) Short for digital art.

   Coordinate term: traditional

5. (music) Any of the keys of a piano or similar instrument.
   • c.1920?, Annie Jessy Gregg Curwen, The Teacher's Guide to Mrs. Curwen's Pianoforte Method (The Child Pianist)

     Beginning with the keyboard, direct attention to the grouping of the black digitals, and show that though at the outer edge of the keyboard the white digitals look as if they were all equally close neighbours, yet, […]

6. (colloquial, humorous) A finger.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin digitālis. Doublet of didal, which was inherited.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [di.ʒiˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [di.d͡ʒiˈtal]

Adjective

digital m or f (masculine and feminine plural digitals)

1. digital

Derived terms

• digitalitzar
• digitalització
• digitalment

Further reading

• “digital” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “digital”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “digital” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “digital” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diɡiˈtæˀl/

Adjective

digital (neuter digitalt, plural and definite singular attributive digitale)

1. digital (representing discrete values)
2. digital (of or relating to computers or the Information Age)

Inflection

References

• “digital” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin digitālis. Doublet of dé.

Use in electronics is a literal borrowing from English, through a misinterpretation of the English word digit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.ʒi.tal/
• Homophones: digitale, digitales

Adjective

digital (feminine digitale, masculine plural digitaux, feminine plural digitales)

1. (relational) fingers, toes; digital
2. (Anglicism, proscribed) digital (not analog)

Usage notes

• digital is occasionally used in French to describe display devices such as TV screens. Its use for other purposes is often criticised, because this use derives from English, and because digital more commonly has the first meaning above. See also numérique.

Derived terms

• empreinte digitale

Further reading

• “digital”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diɡiˈtaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

digital (strong nominative masculine singular digitaler, not comparable)

1. (computing) digital
2. (medicine) digital

Declension

Further reading

• “digital” in Duden online
• “digital” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch digitaal, from Latin digitālis or Middle French digital, itself from Latin.

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): [diˈɡital]
• (nonstandard) IPA^(key): [diˈd͡ʒital]
• Hyphenation: di‧gi‧tal

Adjective

digital

1. digital

   Antonym: analog

   1. Property of representing values as discrete, often binary, numbers rather than a continuous spectrum.
   2. Of or relating to computers or the Information Age.

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “digital” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin digitālis, from digitus (“finger, toe”) + -ālis (“-al”).

Adjective

digital m

1. (Jersey) digital

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin digitalis, via English digital.

Adjective

digital (neuter singular digitalt, definite singular and plural digitale)

1. digital

Derived terms

• digitalisere
• digitalkamera

References

• “digital” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin digitalis, via English digital.

Adjective

digital (neuter singular digitalt, definite singular and plural digitale)

1. digital

Derived terms

• digitalisere
• digitalkamera

References

• “digital” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin digitālis. Doublet of dedal, which was inherited.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: di‧gi‧tal

Adjective

digital m or f (plural digitais)

1. digital; having to do with the fingers or toes
2. dealing with discrete values rather than a continuous spectrum of values
3. dealing with the display of numerical values

Derived terms

• digitalizar
• digitalização

Noun

digital f (plural digitais)

1. (Brazil) Ellipsis of impressão digital.

Romanian

Alternative forms

• диӂитал (digital) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from French digital. By surface analysis, digit +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.d͡ʒiˈtal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: di‧gi‧tal

Adjective

digital m or n (feminine singular digitală, masculine plural digitali, feminine and neuter plural digitale)

1. digital (having to do with fingers or toes)
2. digital (dealing with discrete values rather than a continuous spectrum of values)

Declension

Related terms

• digitaliza

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin digitālis. Doublet of dedal, which was inherited.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dixiˈtal/ [d̪i.xiˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: di‧gi‧tal

Adjective

digital m or f (masculine and feminine plural digitales)

1. digital; having to do with the fingers or toes
2. digital; dealing with discrete values rather than a continuous spectrum of values
3. digital; dealing with the display of numerical values

Derived terms

Noun

digital f (plural digitales)

1. foxglove (plant, flower)

Further reading

• “digital”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin digitālis, via English digital.

Adjective

digital (not comparable)

1. digital; in (or using) digital (and electronic) form

Usage notes

• Circa 2010, the word took on a wider definition, meaning electronic, modern, or binary (having only two values); digitalisering (“digitization”) started to being used not only of signals, information and documents (e.g. digitizing books or patient's journals), but also about enterprises, as a synonym to automation, computerization (e.g. digitizing libraries and hospitals).

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

• digitalisera
• digitalisering (“digitalization”)

References

• digital in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• digital in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)