Computers have become a large part of the modern-day world, this is why I decided to look up the word computer in the Oxford English Dictionary and the Thorndike-Barnhart Student Dictionary and compare the two definitions given. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first meaning of the word computer was used in 1646. At that time, computer meant simply " one who computes." The following quote found in the OED and made by Brewster in 1855 uses …showed first 75 words of 342 total…

…showed last 75 words of 342 total…of computer found in the OED. The only major differences are the OED references quotes to help clarify the meaning and the OED adds an additional word combination to the word computer. The definitions of computer, found in both the OED and the Thorndike-Barnhart Student Dictionary, are very similar. The only main differences are limited to two. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Oxford English Dictionary. th ed. . Thorndike-Barnhart Student Dictionary. 1st ed. 1988. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1988.