What does diskette mean?
A diskette is a small, portable magnetic storage device for computers, better known by its informal name, the floppy disk. It consists of a thin, flexible disk coated with magnetic material and sealed inside a square plastic jacket that protects its surface while allowing a computer's drive to read and write data. Diskettes were introduced commercially in the early 1970s and became the standard way to move documents, software, and other files between machines through the 1980s and 1990s, with capacities ranging from roughly 360 kilobytes to 1.44 megabytes. They were gradually replaced during the late 1990s and 2000s by CD-ROMs, USB flash drives, and network storage, and are now essentially obsolete. The word carries strong nostalgic connotations today, and its enduring cultural presence is visible in the universal 'save' icon, which still depicts a diskette even for users who have never handled one.
nounA small, portable magnetic storage medium for computers — a flexible or rigid-cased floppy disk enclosed in a square plastic carrier, used especially in personal computers from the 1970s through the early 2000s.
- A removable magnetic data-storage medium consisting of a thin flexible disk sealed in a square plastic jacket, used chiefly with personal computers; a floppy disk.
"She saved her thesis to a diskette and slipped it into her bag."
"Copy the installer files onto a diskette and take them to the offline machine."
"In 1987 you could fit an entire novel on a single high-density diskette."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple disks collectively, often with quantities or storage contexts.
"The whole application shipped on two diskettes."
The 'save' icon on your screen is a picture of a diskette — most people under 25 have never touched one.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does diskette come from?
The word diskette is formed from 'disk' plus the diminutive suffix '-ette', meaning a little disk. It entered English in the early 1970s as IBM's trademark-style name for its newly introduced flexible storage medium, which was dramatically smaller than existing hard disks. The root traces further back to Greek 'diskos', meaning a flat round plate or quoit, which also gave English 'disc', 'discus', and ultimately 'disco' (from French 'discothèque'). The '-ette' suffix, borrowed from French, appears in many English words denoting small versions of things, such as 'cassette' and 'statuette'.
How diskette is actually used
Now largely obsolete and used mainly in historical or nostalgic contexts. The term is more common in American English; British English historically favored 'floppy disk' as well. Strictly, 'diskette' originally referred to the smaller 3.5-inch format, but it came to be used interchangeably with 'floppy disk' for all sizes.
Easily confused with diskette
A disc is a flat circular object in general (or an optical CD/DVD), while a diskette is specifically the small square-cased magnetic storage medium.
A hard disk is the fixed internal storage drive inside a computer, whereas a diskette is a removable, portable medium of much smaller capacity.