What does windowing mean?
Windowing most commonly means the arrangement and management of application windows in a graphical computer interface. Applications appear in bordered areas, called windows, and users can move, resize, minimize, or organize them. The term is also used in computing for dividing a display, dataset, or process into manageable sections. In construction and related technical contexts, windowing can mean the process of forming or fitting openings in a wall or structure. Although the ordinary word “window” ultimately refers to an opening in a building, its computing sense developed from the idea of a framed area through which something can be viewed or accessed. “Windowing system,” “windowing environment,” and “windowing software” are established technical expressions. The word is chiefly formal and specialized; most everyday speakers use “windows” or “window management” rather than “windowing” when describing a computer desktop.
The action or process of arranging and managing application windows on a computer display, or of dividing a larger display, dataset, or process into windowed sections.
"Improved windowing lets users organize several applications across two monitors."
Chiefly used in computing and technical contexts.
The present participle of “window,” meaning to arrange, display, or fit something in or as windows.
"The interface is windowing the application across the computer's two displays."
This form is more common as a gerund, especially in the expression “windowing software” or “windowing system.”
Rare; used mainly for distinct window arrangements, systems, or approaches.
"The software supports several different windowings of the same application."
Before screens had movable panes, people had already borrowed the idea of a window: a framed opening that lets light in while keeping the outside out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of windowing
Windowing is derived from “window,” a Middle English word borrowed from Old Norse vindauga, literally “wind-eye.” Its two elements correspond to the English words “wind” and “eye”: the opening was imagined as an eye exposed to the wind. The modern computing sense developed much later from the resemblance between framed openings in architecture and bordered application areas on a screen. The gerund or noun form “windowing” follows the ordinary English use of -ing to denote an action or process.
How windowing is actually used
Windowing is most common in computing and related technical writing. Outside that field, it is comparatively uncommon and may sound formal or specialized, especially when referring to openings in physical structures.
Easily confused with windowing
Windowing refers to windows or the arrangement of windows, whereas winnowing means separating grain from chaff or selecting a subset of something.