Kilobyte
/ˈkɪl.ə.baɪt/noun
A unit of digital information equal to 1,000 bytes in the SI system, though historically often used for 1,024 bytes in computing.
Did you know?The word byte was coined at IBM in the 1950s as a playful respelling of “bite,” reportedly to prevent confusion with the already-established computing term “bit.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵheslo-
“A reconstructed Indo-European root associated with the number one thousand; the precise pathway to Greek is debated in detail.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
χίλιοι (khílioi)
“A thousand; the source of the international combining form kilo-.”
19th Century
French
kilo-
“A metric prefix meaning one thousand, adopted in the metric system.”
1956
English
byte
“A coined computing term, probably modeled humorously on “bit” and spelled like “bite”; it originally referred to a small group of bits.”
Late 20th Century
English
kilobyte
“A computing unit formed from kilo- and byte, commonly used for approximately one thousand bytes, or traditionally 1,024 bytes.”
Modern English
English
kilobyte
“A digital storage or data unit officially equal to 1,000 bytes; 1,024 bytes is more precisely called a kibibyte.”