Downtime
/ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/noun
Time during which a machine, system, or person is not working or is unavailable.
Did you know?Unlike words with ancient mystical roots, downtime is a modern industrial compound that turned the everyday pause in labor into a technical term for failure, rest, or interruption.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
dūn
“down, downward, from a Germanic adverb meaning 'from a higher place to a lower one'”
Old English
OE
tīma
“time, a period or season”
19th Century
English
down time
“time during which a machine or process is not operating”
20th Century
English
downtime
“the period when equipment, a system, or a person is unavailable or inactive”
Modern English
English
downtime
“inactive or unproductive time, especially while a system is out of service”