system command

1 4.3

An instruction typed by a computer user to make the computer do something

noun
/ˈsɪstəm kəˈmænd/

Specialized

: comando del sistema

Examples

Scripts consist of program flows and/or operating system commands that facilitate the use of the programs in the correct order and reduce the number of manual field entries.

Academic text (2005)
When you type a system command in the terminal, the operating system executes the requested action.
The system command required to restart your computer is simple and can be done with one line of text.
Using the correct system command, you can easily access files stored in different directories.

Synonyms

command

vssystem command

Specialized

392 3.7

An order given by someone in authority or a computer instruction

is limited to user typed requests to the computer's main software outside programs

How Privileged

superuser

Specialized

1 6.0

system command

Specialized

1 4.3

Surface Forms

system command singular

system commands plural

Morphology

system + command

The meaning is directly compositional: 'command' (an instruction) applied to 'system' (the computer/operating system) yields an instruction given to the system. This noun–noun combination follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.

Etymology

The term system command comes from the idea of giving an 'order' to a computer: system means the whole computer and command is an 'order' you give, so a system command is a short typed 'order' that tells the computer to do something.