peripheral device
- noun
- /pəˈrɪfərəl dɪˈvaɪs/
- Specialized
- He purchased several peripheral devices to improve his gaming experience, including a headset and a joystick.
- other peripheral devices
Examples
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And they can even track not just the headset itself, but also peripheral devices or even multiple people with headsets and peripherals.
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99% of peripheral devices are wireless, and if for some reason you actually need to connect something with a cable, that's what the data-capable headphone jack and dock connector are for.
Blog text (13) -
A range of peripheral devices can support music applications in the curriculum.
Academic text (2006) -
A peripheral device, called the Mimic, displays a print translation of the braille on a small screen.
Academic text (2007) -
Accepted materials included hard drives, monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, terminals, modems, software, and other peripheral devices.
Academic text (2001) -
The emerging application for multifunction peripheral devices, having the ability to process complex images formerly handled by large host-based systems, has been enabled through this technology.
Academic text (1998) -
Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash memory, equivalent non-volatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIGS. 1-2.
Blog text (19) -
The small size also allows it to be readily integrated on-chip with other functions (a microcontroller, for example), and as such, it is well suited for incorporation into many different kinds of computer storage peripheral devices.
Academic text (1998) -
The processes of the illustrative embodiments may be performed by processor 206 using computer-implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory such as, for example, main memory 208, read-only memory 224, or in one or more peripheral devices.
Blog text (19) -
Many peripheral devices, like printers and scanners, are essential for enhancing computer functionality.
Synonyms
A device like a keyboard or printer that connects to a computer
A device you add to a computer to make it work better or be easier to use
A device that connects to a computer, like a mouse or printer, but is not inside it
A machine like a keyboard or printer that moves information between a computer and a user
A machine like a keyboard or monitor that sends data into and out of a computer
How Essential
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an external device connected to the main computer' is directly and compositionally derived from 'peripheral' (external, at the margins) + 'device' (a manufactured instrument). This modifier–head noun combination follows regular English compounding and has clear parallels in other languages (e.g. Spanish 'dispositivo periférico'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will most likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Peripheral device comes from the simple image of tools sitting at the edge of the main computer; peripheral means 'at the edge' and device means a tool. So, a peripheral device is a tool that connects to the computer from the outside to give 'extra' functions.